THE 


GUARDIAN    ANGEL 


BY 


OLIVER    WENDELL    HOLMES, 

AUTHOR   OF   "THE   AUTOCRAT  OF   THE   BREAKFAST-TABLE, 
"ELSIE    VENNER,"    ETC. 


BOSTON: 
TICKNOR     AND     FIELDS. 

1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

TICKNOR     AND     FIELDS, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS:  WELCH,  BIGELOW,  &  Co. 
CAMBRIDGE. 


fin 


; 


TO 


JAMES   T.    FIELDS, 

^     TOKEN-    OF   KIND    REGARD 

FROM   ONE   OF   MANY   WRITERS 

WHO     HAVE     FOUND     HIM       A    WISE,    FAITHFUL, 
AND   GENEROUS   FRIEND. 


3971 


TO    MY    HEADERS. 

"  A  NEW  PREFACE  "  is,  I  find,  promised 
^  ^  with  my  story.  If  there  are  any  among 
my  readers  who  loved  ^Esop's  Fables  chiefly  on 
account  of  the  Moral  appended,  they  will  perhaps 
be  pleased  to  turn  backward  and  learn  what  I 
have  to  say  here. 

This  tale  forms  a  natural  sequence  to  a  former 
one,  which  some  may  remember,  entitled  "  Elsie 
Venner."  Like  that,  it  is  intended  for  two  classes 
of  readers,  of  which  the  smaller  one  includes  the 
readers  of  the  "  Morals "  in  jEsop  and  of  this 
Preface. 

The  first  of  the  two  stories  based  itself  upon  an 
experiment  which  some  thought  cruel,  even  on  pa 
per.  It  imagined  an  alien  element  introduced  into 
the  blood  of  a  human  being  before  that  being  saw 
.the  light.  It  showed  a  human  nature  developing 
itself  in  conflict  with  the  ophidian  characteristics 
and  instincts  impressed  upon  it  during  the  pre-natal 
period.  Whether  anything  like  this  ever  happened, 


vi  TO  MY  READERS. 

or  was  possible,  mattered  little  :  it  enabled  me,  at 
any  rate,  to  suggest  the  limitations  of  human  re 
sponsibility  in  a  simple  and  effective  way. 

The  story  which  follows  comes  more  nearly  with 
in  the  range  of  common  experience.  The  succes 
sive  development  of  inherited  bodily  aspects  and 
habitudes  is  well  known  to  all  who  have  lived 
long  enough  to  see  families  grow  up  under  their 
own  eyes.  The  same  thing  happens,  but  less 
obviously  to  common  observation,  in  the  mental 
and  moral  nature.  There  is  something  frightful 
in  the  way  in  which  not  only  characteristic  quali 
ties,  but  particular  manifestations  of  them,  are  re 
peated  from  generation  to  generation.  Jonathan 
Edwards  the  younger  tells  the  story  of  a  brutal 
wretch  in  New  Haven  who  was  abusing  his  father, 
when  the  old  man  cried  out,  "Don't  drag  me  any 
further,  for  I  did  n't  drag  my  father  beyond  this 
tree."  I  have  attempted  to  show  the  successive 
evolution  of  some  inherited  qualities  in  the  char 
acter  of  Myrtle  Hazard,  not  so  obtrusively  as  to 
disturb  the  narrative,  but  plainly  enough  to  be  kept 
in  sight  by  the  small  class  of  preface-readers. 

If  I  called  these  two  stories  Studies  of  the  Reflex 
Function  in  its  higher  sphere,  I  should  frighten 


TO  MY  READERS.  vii 

away  all  but  the  professors  and  the  learned  ladies. 
If  I  should  proclaim  that  they  were  protests  against 
the  scholastic  tendency  to  shift  the  total  responsi 
bility  of  all  human  action  from  the  Infinite  to  the 
finite,  I  might  alarm  the  jealousy  of  the  cabinet- 
keepers  of  our  doctrinal  museums.  By  saying 
nothing  about  it,  the  large  majority  of  those  whom 
my  book  reaches,  not  being  preface-readers,  will 
never  suspect  anything  to  harm  them  beyond  the 
simple  facts  of  the  narrative. 

Should  any  professional  alarmist  choose  to  con 
found  the  doctrine  of  limited  responsibility  with 
that  which  denies  the  existence  of  any  self-deter 
mining  power,  he  may  be  presumed  to  belong  to 
the  class  of  intellectual  half-breeds,  of  which  we 
have  many  representatives  in  our  new  country, 
wearing  the  garb  of  civilization,  and  even  the  gown 
of  scholarship.  If  we  cannot  follow  the  automatic 
machinery  of  nature  into  the  mental  and  moral 
world,  where  it  plays  its  part  as  much  as  in  the 
bodily  functions,  without  being  accused  of  laying 
"all  that  we  are  evil  in  to  a  divine  thrusting  on," 
we  had  better  return  at  once  to  our  old  demon- 
ology,  and  reinstate  the  Leader  of  the  Lower  House 
in  his  time-honored  prerogatives. 


viii  TO  MY  KEADERS. 

As  fiction  sometimes  seems  stranger  than  truth, 
a  few  words  may  be  needed  here  to  make  some 
of  my  characters  and  statements  appear  probable. 
The  long-pending  question  involving  a  property 
which  had  become  in  the  mean  time  of  immense 
value  finds  its  parallel  in  the  great  De  Haro  land- 
case,  decided  in  the  Supreme  Court  while  this  story 
was  in  progress  (May  14th,  1867).  The  experi 
ment  of  breaking  the  child's  will  by  imprisonment 
and  fasting  is  borrowed  from  a  famous  incident,  hap 
pening  long  before  the  case  lately  before  one  of  the 
courts  of  a  neighboring  Commonwealth,  where  a  lit 
tle  girl  was  beaten  to  death  because  she  would  not 
say  her  prayers.  The  mental  state  involving  utter 
confusion  of  different  generations  in  a  person  yet 
capable  of  forming  a  correct  judgment  on  other 
matters,  is  almost  a  direct  transcript  from  nature. 
I  should  not  have  ventured  to  repeat  the  questions 
of  the  daughters  of  the  millionnaires  to  Myrtle 
Hazard  about  her  family  conditions,  and  their 
comments,  had  not  a  lady  of  fortune  and  position 
mentioned  to  me  a  similar  circumstance  in  the 
school  history  of  one  of  her  own  children.  Per 
haps  I  should  have  hesitated  in  reproducing  Myrtle 
Hazard's  "  Vision,"  but  for  a  singular  experience 


TO  MY  RP:ADERS.  ix 

of  liis  own  related  to  me  by  the  late  Mr.  Forcey the 
Willson. 

Gifted  Hopkins  (under  various  aliases)  has  been 
a  frequent  correspondent  of  mine.  I  have  also 
received  a  good  many  communications,  signed  with 
various  names,  which  must  have  been  from  near 
female  relatives  of  that  young  gentleman.  I  once 
sent  a  kind  of  encyclical  letter  to  the  whole  fam 
ily  connection ;  but  as  the  delusion  under  which 
they  labor  is  still  common,  and  often  leads  to  the 
wasting  of  time,  the  contempt  of  honest  study  or 
humble  labor,  and  the  misapplication  of  intelligence 
not  so  far  below  mediocrity  as  to  be  incapable  of 
affording  a  respectable  return  when  employed  in 
the  proper  direction,  I  thought  this  picture  from 
life  might  also  be  of  service.  When  I  say  that 
no  genuine  young  poet  will  apply  it  to  himself, 
I  think  I  have  so  far  removed  the  sting  that  few 
or  none  will  complain  of  being  wounded. 

It  is  lamentable  to  be  forced  to  add  that  the 
Reverend  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker  is  only  a  softened 
copy  of  too  many  originals  to  whom,  as  a  regular 
attendant  upon  divine  worship  from  my  childhood 
to  the  present  time,  I  have  respectfully  listened, 
while  they  dealt  with  me  and  mim.ancl  the  bulk 


X  TO  MY  READERS. 

of  their  fellow-creatures  after  the  manner  of  their 
sect.  If,  in  the  interval  between  his  first  showing 
himself  in  my  story  and  its  publication  in  a  sep 
arate  volume,  anything  had  occurred  to  make  me 
question  the  justice  or  expediency  of  drawing  and 
exhibiting  such  a  portrait,  I  should  have  recon 
sidered  it,  with  the  view  of  retouching  its  sharper 
features.  But  its  essential  truthfulness  has  been 
illustrated  every  month  or  two,  since  my  story  has 
been  in  the  course  of  publication,  by  a  fresh  ex 
ample  from  real  life,  stamped  in  darker  colors  than 
any  with  which  I  should  have  thought  of  staining 
my  pages. 

There  are  a  great  many  good  clergymen  to  one 
bad  one,  but  a  writer  finds  it  hard  to  keep  to  the 
true  proportion  of  good  and  bad  persons  in  telling 
a  story.  The  three  or  four  good  ministers  I  have 
introduced  in  this  narrative  must  stand  for  many 
whom  I  have  known  and  loved,  and  some  of 
whom  I  count  to-day  among  my  most  valued 
friends.  I  hope  the  best  and  wisest  of  them  will 
like  this  story  and  approve  it.  If  they  cannot  all 
do  this,  I  know  they  will  recognize  it  as  having 
been  written  with  a  right  and  honest  purpose. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  AN  ADVERTISEMENT i 

II.  GREAT  EXCITEMENT 7 

III.  ANTECEDENTS 21 

IV.  BYLES  GRIDLEY,  A.  M 38 

V.  THE  TWINS 50 

VI.  THE  USE  OF  SPECTACLES  .  54 

VII.  MYRTLE'S  LETTER. — THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  PURSUIT  60 

VIII.  DOWN  THE  RIVER 71 

IX.  MR.  CLEMENT  LINDSAY  RECEIVES  A  LETTER,  AND 

BEGINS  HIS  ANSWER  ......  94 

X.  MR.  CLEMENT  LINDSAY  FINISHES  HIS  LETTER. — 

WHAT  CAME  OF  IT 105 

XL  VEXED  WITH  A  DEVIL 124 

XII.  SKIRMISHING 143 

XIII.  BATTLE 152 

XIV.  FLANK  MOVEMENT 163 

XV.  ARRIVAL  OF  REINFORCEMENTS  .        .        .        .  175 

XVI.  VICTORY 183 

XVII.  SAINT  AND  SINNER 188 

XVIII.  THE  VILLAGE  POET 192 

XIX.  SUSAN'S  YOUNG  MAN 209 

XX.  THE  SECOND  MEETING 227 

XXI.  MADNESS? 242 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


XXII.    A  CHANGE  OF  PROGRAMME        .        .        .        .251 

XXIII.  MYRTLE  HAZARD  AT  THE  CITY  SCHOOL        .  259 

XXIV.  MUSTERING  OF  FORCES 277 

XXV.    THE  POET  AND  THE  PUBLISHER     .        .        .  288 

XXVI.    MRS.  CLYMER  KETCHUM'S  PARTY       .    t  .        .  302 

XXVII.     MINE  AND  COUNTERMINE       ....  319 

XXVIII.    MR.  BRADSHAW  CALLS  ON  Miss  BADLAM  .        .  324 
XXIX.    MISTRESS    KITTY    FAGAN   CALLS    ON    MASTER 

BYLES  GRIDLEY 331 

XXX.     MASTER  BYLES  GRIDLEY   CALLS  ON  Miss  CYN 
THIA  BADLAM 338 

XXXI.    MASTER  BYLES  GRIDLEY  CONSULTS  WITH  JACOB 

PENHALLOW,  ESQUIRE 350 

XXXII.     SUSAN  POSEY'S  TRIAL 358 

XXXIII.      JUST  AS  YOU    EXPECTED 367 

XXXIV.    MURRAY  BRADSHAW  PLAYS  HIS  LAST  CARD  .  382 

XXXV.  THE  SPOTTED  PAPER 393 

XXXVI.  CONCLUSION 405 


THE    GUARDIAN    ANGEL. 


CHAPTER    I. 

AN    ADVERTISEMENT. 

ON  Saturday,  the  18th  day  of  June,  1859,  the  "  State 
Banner  and  Delphian  Oracle,"  published  weekly  at 
Oxbow  Village,  one  of  the  principal  centres  in  a  thriving 
river-town  of  New  England,  contained  an  advertisement 
which  involved  the  story  of  a  young  life,  and  startled  the 
emotions  of  a  small  community.  Such  faces  of  dismay, 
such  shaking  of  heads,  such  gatherings  at  corners,  such 
halts  of  complaining,  rheumatic  wagons,  and  dried-up,  chir 
ruping  chaises,  for  colloquy  of  their  still-faced  tenants,  had 
not  been  known  since  the  rainy  November  Friday,  when 
old  Malachi  Withers  was  found  hanging  in  his  garret  up 
there  at  the  lonely  house  behind  the  poplars. 

The  number  of  the  "  Banner  and  Oracle  "  which  con 
tained  this  advertisement  was  a  fair  specimen  enough  of  the 
kind  of  newspaper  to  which  it  belonged.  Some  extracts 
from  a  stray  copy  of  the  issue  of  the  date  referred  to  will 
show  the  reader  what  kind  of  entertainment  the  paper  was 
accustomed  to  furnish  its  patrons,  and  also  serve  some  inci 
dental  purposes  of  the  writer  in  bringing  into  notice  a  few 
personages  who  are  to  figure  in  this  narrative. 

The  copy  in  question  was  addressed  to  one  of  its  regular 

1  A 


'2  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

subscribers,  —  "  B.  Gridley,  Esq."  The  sarcastic  annota 
tions  at  various  points,  enclosed  in  brackets  and  italicised 
that  they  may  be  distinguished  from  any  other  comments, 
were  taken  from  the  pencilled  remarks  of  that  gentleman, 
intended  for  the  improvement  of  a  member  of  the  family 
in  which  he  resided,  and  are  by  no  means  to  be  attributed 
to  the  harmless  pen  which  reproduces  them. 

Byles  Gridley,  A.  M.,  as  he  would  have  been  styled  by 
persons  acquainted  with  scholarly  dignities,  was  a  bachelor, 
who  had  been  a  schoolmaster,  a  college  tutor,  and  after 
wards  for  many  years  professor,  —  a  man  of  learning,  of 
habits,  of  whims  and  crotchets,  such  as  are  hardly  to  be 
found,  except  in  old,  unmarried  students,  —  the  double 
flowers  of  college  culture,  their  stamina  all  turned  to  petals, 
their  stock  in  the  life  of  the  race  all  funded  in  the  individ 
ual.  Being  a  man  of  letters,  Byles  Gridley  naturally  rather 
undervalued  the  literary  acquirements  of  the  good  people 
of  the  rural  district  where  he  resided,  and,  having  known 
much  of  college  and  something  of  city  life,  was  apt  to 
smile  at  the  importance  they  attached  to  their  little  local 
concerns.  He  was,  of  course,  quite  as  much  an  object  of 
rough  satire  to  the  natural  observers  and  humorists,  who 
are  never  wanting  in  a  New  England  village,  —  perhaps 
not  in  any  village  where  a  score  or  two  of  families  are 
brought  together,  —  enough  of  them,  at  any  rate,  to  fur 
nish  the  ordinary  characters  of  a  real-life  stock  com 
pany. 

The  old  Master  of  Arts  was  a  permanent  boarder  in  the 
house  of  a  very  worthy  woman,  relict  of  the  late  Ammi 
Hopkins,  by  courtesy  Esquire,  whose  handsome  monument 
—  in  a  finished  and  carefully  colored  lithograph,  repre 
senting  a  finely  shaped  urn  under  a  very  nicely  groomed 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  3 

willow  —  hung  in  her  small,  well-darkened,  and,  as  it  were, 
monumental  parlor.  Her  household  consisted  of  herself, 
her  son,  nineteen  years  of  age,  of  whom  more  hereafter, 
and  of  two  small  children,  twins,  left  upon  her  doorstep 
when  little  more  than  mere  marsupial  possibilities,  taken  in 
for  the  night,  kept  for  a  week,  and  always  thereafter  cher 
ished  by  the  good  soul  as  her  own ;  also  of  Miss  Susan 
Posey,  aged  eighteen,  at  school  at  the  "Academy"  in 
another  part  of  the  same  town,  a  distant  relative,  boarding 
with  her. 

What  the  old  scholar  took  the  village  paper  for  it  would 
be  hard  to  guess,  unless  for  a  reason  like  that  which 
carried  him  very  regularly  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker,  colleague  of  the  old  minister 
of  the  village  parish ;  namely,  because  he  did  not  believe 
a  word  of  his  favorite  doctrines,  and  liked  to  go  there  so  as 
to  growl  to  himself  through  the  sermon,  and  go  home  scold 
ing  all  the  way  about  it. 

The  leading  article  of  the  "  Banner  and  Oracle "  for 
June  18th  must  have  been  of  superior  excellence,  for  as 
Mr.  Gridley  remarked,  several  of  the  "  metropolitan  "  jour 
nals  of  the  date  of  June  15th  and  thereabout  had  evidently 
conversed  with  the  writer  and  borrowed  some  of  his  ideas 
before  he  gave  them  to  the  public.  The  Foreign  News  by 
the  Europa  at  Halifax,  15th,  was  spread  out  in  the  amplest 
dimensions  the  type  of  the  office  could  supply.  More  bat 
tles  !  The  Allies  victorious !  The  King  and  General 
Cialdini  beat  the  Austrians  at  Palestro !  400  Austrians 
drowned  in  a  canal !  Anti-French  feeling  in  Germany ! 
Allgermine  Zeiturg  talks  of  conquest  of  Allsatia  and  Lor- 
aine  and  the  occupation  of  Paris !  [Vicious  digs  with  a 
pencil  through  the  above  proper  names.]  Race  for  the 


4  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Derby  won  by  Sir  Joseph  Hawley's  Musjid!  [Tfiat's 
what  England  cares  for  !  Hooray  for  the  Darby!  Italy 
be  deedeed!]  Visit  of  Prince  Alfred  to  the  Holy  Land. 
Letter  from  our  own  Correspondent.  [Oh!  Oh!  At 
West  Minkville?]  Cotton  advanced.  Breadstuff's  declin 
ing. —  Deacon  Rumrill's  barn  burned  down  on  Saturday 
night.  A  pig  missing ;  supposed  to  have  "  fallen  a  prey  to 
the  devouring  element."  [  Got  roasted.]  A  yellow  min 
eral  had  been  discovered  on  the  Doolittle  farm,  which,  by 
the  report  of  those  who  had  seen  it,  bore  a  strong  resem 
blance  to  California  gold  ore.  Much  excitement  in  the 
neighborhood  in  consequence.  [Idiots!  Iron  pyrites!] 
A  hen  at  Four  Corners  had  just  laid  an  egg  measuring  7 
by  8  inches.  Fetch  on  your  biddies !  [Editorial  wit  !] 
A  man  had  shot  an  eagle  measuring  six  feet  and  a  half 
from  tip  to  tip  of  his  wings.  —  Crops  suffering  for  want  of 
rain.  [Always  just  so.  "  Dry  times,  Father  Noah !  "] 
The  editors  had  received  a  liberal  portion  of  cake  from  the 
happy  couple  whose  matrimonial  union  was  recorded  in  the 
column  dedicated  to  Hymen.  Also  a  superior  article  of 
[article  of!  bah!]  steel  pen  from  the  enterprising  mer 
chant  [shopkeeper]  whose  advertisement  was  to  be  found 
on  the  third  page  of  this  paper.  —  An  interesting  Surprise 
Party  [cheap  theatricals']  had  transpired  [bah!~\  on  Thurs 
day  evening  last  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker.  The 
parishioners  had  donated  [donated!  GIVE  is  a  good  word 
enough  for  the  Lord's  Prayer.  DONATE  our  daily  bread!] 
a  bag  of  meal,  a  bushel  of  beans,  a  keg  of  pickles,  and  a 
quintal  of  salt-fish.  The  worthy  pastor  was  much  affected, 
etc.,  etc.  [  Of  course.  Call  'em  SENSATION  parties  and 
done  with  it  !]  The  Rev.  Dr.  Pemberton  and  the  vener 
able  Dr.  Hurlbut  honored  the  occasion  with  their  presence. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  5 

—  We  learn  that  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Eveleth,  rector  of  St. 
Bartholomew's  Chapel,  has  returned  from  his  journey,  and 
will  officiate  to-morrow. 

Then  came  strings  of  advertisements,  with  a  luxuriant 
vegetation  of  capitals  and  notes  of  admiration.  More  of 
those  PEIME  GOODS  !  Full  Assortments  of  every  Article 
in  our  line  !  [Except  the  one  thing  you  want  /]  Auction 
Sale.  Old  furniture,  feather-beds,  bed-spreads  [spreads! 
ugh  /],  setts  [setts  /]  crockery- ware,  odd  vols.,  ullage  bbls. 
of  this  and  that,  with  other  household  goods,  etc.,  etc.,  etc., 

—  the  etceteras  meaning  all  sorts  of  insane  movables,  such 
as  come  out  of  their  bedlam-holes   when  an   antiquated 
domestic   establishment   disintegrates   itself  at   a  country 
"  vandoo."  —  Several  announcements  of  "  Feed,"  whatever 
that  may  be,  —  not  restaurant  dinners,  anyhow,  —  also  of 
"  Shorts,"  —  terms  mysterious  to  city  ears  as  jute  and  cud 
bear  and  gunnybags  to  such  as  drive  oxen  in  the  remote 
interior  districts.  —  Then  the  marriage  column  above  allud 
ed  to,  by  the  fortunate   recipients  of  the   cake.  —  Right 
opposite,  as  if  for  matrimonial  ground-bait,  a  Notice  that 
Whereas  my  wife,  Lucretia  Babb,  has  left  my  bed  and 
board,  I  will  not  be  responsible,  etc.,  etc.,  from  this  date.  — 
Jacob  Penhallow  (of  the  late  firm  Wibird  and  Penhallow) 
had  taken  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  into  partner 
ship,  and  the  business  of  the  office  would  be  carried  on 
as  usual  under  the  title  Penhallow  and  Bradshaw,  At 
torneys  at  Law.  —  Then  came  the  standing  professional 
card  of  Dr.  Lemuel  Hurlbut  and  Dr.  Fordyce  Hurlbut, 
the  medical  patriarch  of  the  town  and  his  son.     Follow 
ing  this,  hideous  quack  advertisements,  some  of  them  with 
the    certificates    of    Honorables,    Esquires,   and    Clergy 
men.  —  Then   a   cow,    strayed   or   stolen   from   the   sub- 


6  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

scriber.  —  Then  the  advertisement  referred  to  in  our  first 
paragraph :  — 

MYRTLE  HAZARD  has  been  missing  from  her  home  in  this  place  since 
Thursday  morning,  June  16th.  She  is  fifteen  years  old,  tall  and  womanly  for 
ber  age,  has  dark  hair  and  eyes,  fresh  complexion,  regular  features,  pleasant  smile 
and  voice,  but  shy  with  strangers.  Her  common  dress  was  a  black  and  white  ging 
ham  check,  straw  hat,  trimmed  with  green  ribbon.  It  is  feared  she  may  have  come 
to  harm  in  some  way,  or  be  wandering  at  large  in  a  state  of  temporary  mental  alien 
ation.  Any  information  relating  to  the  missing  child  will  be  gratefully  received  and 
properly  rewarded  by  her  afflicted  aunt, 

MISS  SILENCE  WITHERS, 

Residing  at  the  Withers  Homestead,  otherwise  known  as  "  The  Poplars,"  in  this 
village.  je  18  i  s  It 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  7 

CHAPTER    II. 

GREAT    EXCITEMENT. 

THE  publication  of  the  advertisement  in  the  paper 
brought  the  village  fever  of  the  last  two  days  to  its 
height.  Myrtle  Hazard's  disappearance  had  been  pretty 
well  talked  round  through  the  immediate  neighborhood,  but 
now  that  forty-eight  hours  of  search  and  inquiry  had  not 
found  her,  and  the  alarm  was  so  great  that  the  young  girl's 
friends  were  willing  to  advertise  her  in  a  public  journal,  it 
was  clear  that  the  gravest  apprehensions  were  felt  and  jus 
tified.  The  paper  carried  the  tidings  to  many  who  had  not 
heard  it.  Some  of  the  farmers  who  had  been  busy  all  the 
week  with  their  fields  came  into  the  village  in  their  wagons 
on  Saturday,  and  there  first  learned  the  news,  and  saw  the 
paper,  and  the  placards  which  were  posted  up,  and  listened, 
open-mouthed,  to  the  whole  story. 

Saturday  was  therefore  a  day  of  much  agitation  in  Ox 
bow  Village,  and  some  stir  in  the  neighboring  settlements. 
Of  course  there  was  a  great  variety  of  comment,  its  char 
acter  depending  very  much  on  the  sense,  knowledge,  and 
disposition  of  the  citizens,  gossips,  and  young  people  who 
talked  over  the  painful  and  mysterious  occurrence. 

The  Withers  Homestead  was  naturally  the  chief  centre 
of  interest.  Nurse  Byloe,  an  ancient  and  voluminous  wo 
man,  who  had  known  the  girl  when  she  was  a  little  bright- 
eyed  child,  handed  over  "  the  baby "  she  was  holding  to 
another  attendant,  and  got  on  her  things  to  go  straight  up 
to  The  Poplars.  She  had  been  holding  u  the  baby  "  these 


8  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

forty  years  and  more,  but  somehow  it  never  got  to  be  more 
than  a  month  or  six  weeks  old.  She  reached  The  Poplars 
after  much  toil  and  travail.  Mistress  Fagan,  Irish,  house- 
servant,  opened  the  door,  at  which  Nurse  Byloe  knocked 
softly,  as  she  was  in  the  habit  of  doing  at  the  doors  of  those 
who  sent  for  her. 

"  Have  you  heerd  anything  yet,  Kitty  Fagan  ? "  asked 
Nurse  Byloe. 

"  Niver  a  blissed  word,"  said  she.  "  Miss  Withers  is  up 
stairs  with  Miss  Bathsheby,  a  cryin'  and  a  lam-entin'. 
Miss  Badlam  's  in  the  parlor.  The  men  has  been  draggin' 
the  pond.  They  have  n't  found  not  one  thing,  but  only  jest 
two,  and  that  was  the  old  coffee-pot  and  the  gray  cat,— 
it 's  them  nigger  boys  hanged  her  with  a  string  they  tied 
round  her  neck  and  then  drownded  her."  [P.  Fagan,  Jr., 
JEt.  14,  had  a  snarl  of  similar  string  in  his  pocket.] 

Mistress  Fagan  opened  the  door  of  the  best  parlor.  A 
woman  was  sitting  1  here  alone,  rocking  back  and  forward, 
and  fanning  herself  with  the  blackest  of  black  fans. 

"  Nuss  Byloe,  is  that  you  ?  Well,  to  be  sure,  I  'm  glad 
to  see  you,  though  we  're  all  in  trouble.  Set  right  down, 
Nuss,  do.  O,  its  dreadful  times  ! " 

A  handken  hief  which  was  in  readiness  for  any  emotional 
overflow  was  here  called  on  for  its  function. 

Nurse  Byloe  let  herself  drop  into  a  flaccid  squab  chair 
with  one  of  those  soft  cushions,  filled  with  slippery  feath 
ers,  which  feel  so  fearfully  like  a  very  young  infant,  or  a 
nest  of  little  kittens,  as  they  flatten  under  the  subsiding 
person. 

The  woman  in  the  rocking-chair  was  Miss  Cynthia  Bad- 
lam,  second-cousin  of  Miss  Silence  Withers,  with  whom  she 
had  been  living  as  a  companion  at  intervals  for  some  years. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

She  appeared  to  be  thirty-five  years  old,  more  or  less,  and 
looked  not  badly  for  that  stage  of  youth,  though  of  course 
she  might  have  been  handsomer  at  twenty,  as  is  often  the 
case  with  women.  She  wore  a  not  unbecoming  cap ;  fre 
quent  headaches  had  thinned  her  locks  somewhat  of  late 
years.  Features  a  little  too  sharp,  a  keen,  gray  eye,  a 
quick  and  restless  glance,  which  rather  avoided  being  met, 
gave  the  impression  that  she  was  a  wide-awake,  cautious, 
suspicious,  and,  very  possibly,  crafty  person. 

"  I  could  n't  help  coniin',"  said  Nurse  Byloe,  "  we  do  so 
love  our  babies,  —  how  can  we  help  it,  Miss  Badlam  ?  " 

The  spinster  colored  up  at  the  nurse's  odd  way  of  using 
the  possessive  pronoun,  and  dropped  her  eyes,  as  was  nat 
ural  on  hearing  such  a  speech. 

"  I  never  tended  children  as  you  have,  Nuss,"  she  said. 
"  But  I  've  known  Myrtle  Hazard  ever  since  she  was  three 
years  old,  and  to  think  she  should  have  come  to  such  an 
end,  — '  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things  and  desper 
ately  wicked,'  "  —  and  she  wept. 

"  Why,  Cynthy  Badlam,  what  do  y'  mean  ?  "  said  Nurse 
Byloe.  "  Y'  don't  think  anything  dreadful  has  come  o'  that 
child's  wild  nater,  do  ye  ?  " 

"Child!"  said  Cynthia  Badlam,  —  "child  enough  to 
wear  this  very  gown  I  have  got  on  and  not  find  it  too  big 
for  her  neither."  [It  would  have  pinched  Myrtle  here  and 
there  pretty  shrewdly.] 

The  two  women  looked  each  other  in  the  eyes  with  sub 
tle  interchange  of  intelligence,  such  as  belongs  to  their  sex 
in  virtue  of  its  specialty.  Talk  without  words  is  half  their 
conversation,  just  as  it  is  all  the  conversation  of  the  lower 
animals.  Only  the  dull  senses  of  men  are  dead  to  it  as  to 
the  music  of  the  spheres. 
1* 


10  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

* 

Their  minds  travelled  along,  as  if  they  had  been  yoked 
together,  through  whole  fields  of  suggestive  speculation, 
until  the  dumb  growths  of  thought  ripened  in  both  their 
souls  into  articulate  speech,  —  consentingly,  as  the  move 
ment  comes  after  the  long  stillness  of  a  Quaker  meeting. 

Their  lips  opened  at  the  same  moment.  "  You  don't 
mean "  —  began  Nurse  Byloe,  but  stopped  as  she  heard 
Miss  Badlam  also  speaking. 

"  They  need  n't  drag  the  pond,"  she  said.  "  They 
need  n't  go  beating  the  woods  as  if  they  were  hunting  a 
patridge,  —  though  for  that  matter  Myrtle  Hazard  was 
always  more  like  a  patridge  than  she  was  like  a  pullet. 
Nothing  ever  took  hold  of  that  girl,  —  not  catechising,  nor 
advising,  nor  punishing.  It 's  that  dreadful  will  of  hers 
never  was  broke.  I  've  always  been  afraid  that  she 
wojuld  turn  out  a  child  of  wrath.  Did  y'  ever  watch  her 
at  meetin'  playing  with  posies  and  looking  round  all  the 
time  of  the  long  prayer?  That's  what  I've  seen  her  do 
many  and  many  a  time.  I  'm  afraid  —  O  dear!  Miss 
Byloe,  I  'm  afraid  to  say  what  I  'm  afraid  of.  Men  are 
so  wicked,  and  young  girls  are  full  of  deceit  and  so  ready 
to  listen  to  all  sorts  of  artful  creturs  that  take  advantage 
of  their  ignorance  and  tender  years."  She  wept  once 
more,  this  time  with  sobs  that  seemed  irrepressible. 

"  Dear  suz ! "  said  the  nurse,  "  I  won't  believe  no  sech 
thing  as  wickedness  about  Myrtle  Hazard.  You  mean 
she  's  gone  an'  run  off  with  some  good-for-nothin'  man  or 
other  ?  If  that  ain't  what  y'  mean,  what  do  y'  mean  ?  It 
can't  be  so,  Miss  Badlam  :  she  's  one  o'  my  babies.  At 
any  rate,  I  handled  her  when  she  fust  come  to  this  village, 
—  and  none  o'  my  babies  never  did  sech  a  thing.  Fifteen 
year  old,  and  be  bringin'  a  whole  family  into  disgrace ! 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  11 

If  she  was  thirty  year  old,  or  five-an'-thirty  or  more,  and 
never  'd  had  a  chance  to  be  married,  and  if  one  o'  them 
artful  creturs  you  was  talkin'  of  got  hold  of  her,  —  then, 

to     be     sure,  —  why, dear    me  !  —  law  !       I    never 

thought,  Miss  Badlam  !  —  but  then  of  course  you  could 
have  had  your  pickin'  and  choosin'  in  the  time  of  it ;  and 
I  don't  mean  to  say  it 's  too  late  now  if  you  felt  called  that 
way,  for  you  're  better  lookin'  now  than  some  that 's 
younger,  and  there  's  no  accountin'  for  tastes." 

A  sort  of  hysteric  twitching  that  went  through  the 
frame  of  Cynthia  Badlam  dimly  suggested  to  the  old  nurse 
that  she  was  not  making  her  slightly  indiscreet  personality 
much  better  by  her  explanations.  She  stopped  short,  and 
surveyed  the  not  uncomely  person  of  the  maiden  lady  sit 
ting  before  her  with  her  handkerchief  pressed  to  her  eyes, 
and  one  hand  clenching  the  arm  of  the  rocking-chair,  as 
if  some  spasm  had  clamped  it  there.  The  nurse  looked  at 
her  with  a  certain  growing  interest  she  had  never  felt  be 
fore.  It  was  the  first  time  for  some  years  that  she  had 
had  such  a  chance,  partly  because  Miss  Cynthia  had  often 
been  away  for  long  periods,  —  partly  because  she  herself 
had  been  busy  professionally.  There  was  no  occasion  for 
her  services,  of  course,  in  the  family  at  The  Poplars ;  and 
she  was  always  following  round  from  place  to  place  after 
that  everlasting  migratory  six-weeks  or  less  old  baby. 

There  was  not  a  more  knowing  pair  of  eyes,  in  their 
way,  in  a  circle  of  fifty  miles,  than  those  kindly  tranquil 
orbs  that  Nurse  Byloe  fixed  on  Cynthia  Badlam.  The 
silver  threads  in  the  side  fold  of  hair,  the  delicate  lines  at 
the  corner  of  the  eye,  the  slight  drawing  down  at  the 
angle  of  the  mouth,  —  almost  imperceptible,  but  the  nurse 
dwelt  upon  it,  —  a  certain  moulding  of  the  features  as  of 


12  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

an  artist's  clay  model  worked  by  delicate  touches  with  the 
fingers,  showing  that  time  or  pain  or  grief  had  had  a  hand 
in  shaping  them,  the  contours,  the  adjustment  of  every  fold 
of  the  dress,  the  attitude,  the  very  way  of  breathing,  were 
all  passed  through  the  searching  inspection  of  the  ancient 
expert,  trained  to  know  all  the  changes  wrought  by  time 
and  circumstance.  It  took  not  so  long  as  it  takes  to  de 
scribe  it,  but  it  was  an  analysis  of  imponderables,  equal  to 
any  of  Bunsen's  with  the  spectroscope. 

Miss  Badlam  removed  her  handkerchief  and  looked  in 
a  furtive,  questioning  way,  in  her  turn,  upon  the  nurse. 

"It's  dreadful  close  here,  —  I'm  'most  smothered," 
Nurse  Byloe  said;  and,  putting  her  hand  to  her  throat, 
unclasped  the  catch  of  the  necklace  of  gold  beads  she  had 
worn  since  she  was  a  baby,  —  a  bead  having  been  added 
from  time  to  time  as  she  thickened.  It  lay  in  a  deep 
groove  of  her  large  neck,  and  had  not  troubled  her  in 
breathing  before,  since  the  day  when  her  husband  was  run 
over  by  an  ox-team. 

At  this  moment  Miss  Silence  Withers  entered,  followed 
by  Bathsheba  Stoker,  daughter  of  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy 
Stoker. 

She  was  the  friend  of  Myrtle,  and  had  come  to  comfort 
Miss  Silence,  and  consult  with  her  as  to  what  further 
search  they  should  institute.  The  two,  Myrtle's  aunt  and 
her  friend,  were  as  unlike  as  they  could  well  be.  Silence 
Withers  was  something  more  than  forty  years  old,  a 
shadowy,  pinched,  sallow,  dispirited,  bloodless  woman, 
with  the  habitual  look  of  the  people  in  the  funeral  car 
riage  which  follows  next  to  the  hearse,  and  the  tone  in 
^caking  that  may  be  noticed  in  a  household  where  one  of  its 
^bers  is  lying  white  and  still  in  a  cool,  darkened  cham- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  13 

ber  overhead.  Bathsheba  Stoker  was  not  called  hand 
some  ;  but  she  had  her  mother's  youthful  smile,  which  was 
so  fresh  and  full  of  sweetness  that  she  seemed  like  a  beau 
ty  while  she  was  speaking  or  listening;  and  she  could 
never  be  plain  so  long  as  any  expression  gave  life  to  her 
features.  In  perfect  repose,  her  face,  a  little  prematurely 
touched  by  sad  experiences,  —  for  she  was  but  seventeen 
years  old,  —  had  the  character  and  decision  stamped  in  its 
outlines  which  any  young  man  who  wanted  a  companion 
to  warn,  to  comfort,  and  command  him,  might  have  de 
pended  on  as  warranting  the  courage,  the  sympathy,  and 
the  sense  demanded  for  such  a  responsibility.  She  had 
been  trying  her  powers  of  consolation  on  Miss  Silence. 
It  was  a  sudden  freak  of  Myrtle's.  She  had  gone  off  on 
some  foolish  but  innocent  excursion.  Besides,  she  was  a 
girl  that  would  take  care  of  herself;  for  she  was  afraid  of 
nothing,  and  nimbler  than  any  boy  of  her  age,  and  almost 
as  strong  as  any.  As  for  thinking  any  bad  thoughts  about 
her,  that  was  a  shame ;  she  cared  for  none  of  the  young 
fellows  that  were  round  her.  Cyprian  Eveleth  was  the 
one  she  thought  most  of;  but  Cyprian  was  as  true  as  his 
sister  Olive,  —  and  who  else  was  there  ? 

To  all  this  Miss  Silence  answered  only  by  sighing  and 
moaning.  For  two  whole  days  she  had  been  kept  in 
constant  fear  and  worry,  afraid  every  minute  of  some 
tragical  message,  perplexed  by  the  conflicting  advice  of 
all  manner  of  officious  friends,  sleepless  of  course  through 
the  two  nights,  and  now  utterly  broken  down  and  col 
lapsed. 

Bathsheba  had  said  all  she  could  in  the  way  of  consola 
tion,  and  hastened  back  to  her  mother's  bedside,  which  she 
hardly  left,  except  for  the  briefest  of  visits. 


14  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  It 's  a  great  trial,  Miss  Withers,  that 's  laid  on  you," 
said  Nurse  Byloe. 

"  If  I  only  knew  that  she  was  dead,  and  had  died  in  the 
Lord,"  Miss  Silence  answered,  —  "if  I  only  knew  that ; 
but  if  she  is  living  in  sin,  or  dead  in  wrong-doing,  what  is 
to  become  of  me  ?  —  0,  what  is  to  become  of  me  when 
1  He  maketh  inquisition  for  blood '  ?  " 

"  Cousin  Silence,"  said  Miss  Cynthia,  "  it  is  n't  your 
fault,  if  that  young  girl  has  taken  to  evil  ways.  If 
going  to  meeting  three  times  every  Sabbath  day,  and 
knowing  the  catechism  by  heart,  and  reading  of  good 
books,  and  the  best  of  daily  advice,  and  all  needful  disci 
pline,  could  have  corrected  her  sinful  nature,  she  would 
never  have  run  away  from  a  home  where  she  enjoyed  all 
these  privileges.  It 's  that  Indian  blood,  Cousin  Silence. 
It 's  a  great  mercy  you  and  I  have  n't  got  any  of  it  in  our 
veins !  What  can  you  expect  of  children  that  come  from 
heathens  and  savages  ?  You  can't  lay  it  to  yourself,  Cou 
sin  Silence,  if  Myrtle  Hazard  goes  wrong  —  " 

"  The  Lord  will  lay  it  to  me,  —  the  Lord  will  lay  it  to 
me,"  she  moaned.  "  Did  n't  he  say  to  Cain,  '  Where  is 
Abel,  thy  brother?'" 

Nurse  Byloe  was  getting  very  red  in  the  face.  She  had 
had  about  enough  of  this  talk  between  the  two  women.  "  I 
hope  the  Lord  '11  take  care  of  Myrtle  Hazard  fust,  if  she  's 
in  trouble,  'n'  wants  help,"  she  said ;  "  'n'  then  look  out  for 
them  that  comes  next.  Y'  're  too  suspicious,  Miss  Bad- 
lam;  y'  're  too  easy  to  believe  stories.  Myrtle  Hazard 
was  as  pretty  a  child  and  as  good  a  child  as  ever  I  see,  if 
you  did  n't  rile  her ;  'n'  d'd  y'  ever  see  one  o'  them  hearty, 
lively  children,  that  had  n't  a  sperrit  of  its  own  ?  For  my 
part,  I  'd  rather  handle  one  of  'em  than  a  dozen  o'  them 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  15 

little  waxy,  weak-eyed,  slim-necked  creturs  that  always  do 
what  they  tell  'em  to,  and  die  afore  they  're  a  dozen  year 
old ;  and  never  was  the  time  when  I  've  seen  Myrtle  Haz 
ard,  sence  she  was  my  baby,  but  what  it  's  always  been, 
'  Good  mornin',  Miss  Byloe,'  and  '  How  do  you  do,  Miss 
Byloe  ?  I  'm  so  glad  to  see  you.'  The  handsomest  young 
woman,  too;  as  all  the  old  folks  will  agree  in  tellin'  you, 
sence  the  time  o'  Judith  Pride  that  was,  —  the  Pride  of  the 
County  they  used  to  call  her,  for  her  beauty.  Her  great- 
grandma,  y'  know,  Miss  Cynthy,  married  old  King  David 
Withers.  What  I  want  to  know  is,  whether  anything  has 
been  heerd,  and  jest  what  's  been  done  about  findin'  the 
poor  thing.  How  d'  ye  know  she  has  n't  fell  into  the  river  ? 
Have  they  fired  cannon?  They  say  that  busts  the  gall 
of  drownded  folks,  and  makes  the  corpse  rise.  Have  they 
looked  in  the  woods  everywhere  ?  Don't  believe  no  wrong 
of  nobody,  not  till  y'  must,  —  least  of  all  of  them  that  come 
o'  the  same  folks,  partly,  and  has  lived  with  ye  all  their 
days.  I  tell  y',  Myrtle  Hazard  's  jest  as  innocent  of  all 
what  y'  've  been  thinkin'  about,  —  bless  the  poor  child; 
she  's  got  a  soul  that 's  as  clean  and  sweet  —  well,  as  a 
pond-lily  when  it  fust  opens  of  a  mornin',  without  a  speck 
on  it  no  more  than  on  the  fust  pond-lily  God  Almighty 
ever  made ! " 

That  gave  a  turn  to  the  two  women's  thoughts,  and  their 
handkerchiefs  went  up  to  their  faces.  Nurse  Byloe  turned 
her  eyes  quickly  on  Cynthia  Badlam,  and  repeated  her 
close  inspection  of  every  outline  and  every  light  and  shad 
ow  in  her  figure.  She  did  not  announce  any  opinion  as  to 
the  age  or  good  looks  or  general  aspect  or  special  points  of 
Miss  Cynthia;  but  she  made  a  sound  which  the  books 
write  humph  !  but  which  real  folks  make  with  closed  lips, 


16  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

thus :  m' !  —  a  sort  of  half-suppressed  labio-palato-nasal 
utterance,  implying  that  there  is  a  good  deal  which  might 
be  said,  and  all  the  vocal  organs  want  to  have  a  chance  at 
it,  if  there  is  to  be  any  talking. 

Friends  and  neighbors  were  coming  in  and  out ;  and  the 
next  person  that  came  was  the  old  minister,  of  whom,  and 
of  his  colleague,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker,  some 
account  may  here  be  introduced. 

The  Rev.  Eliphalet  Pemberton  —  Father  Pemberton  as 
brother  ministers  called  him,  Priest  Pemberton  as  he  was 
commonly  styled  by  the  country  people  —  would  have 
seemed  very  old,  if  the  medical  patriarch  of  the  village  had 
not  been  so  much  older.  A  man  over  ninety  is  a  great 
comfort  to  all  his  elderly  neighbors :  he  is  a  picket-guard 
at  the  extreme  outpost ;  and  the  young  folks  of  sixty  and 
seventy  feel  that  the  enemy  must  get  by  him  before  he  can 
come  near  their  camp.  Dr.  Hurlbut,  at  ninety-two,  made 
Priest  Pemberton  seem  comparatively  little  advanced ;  but 
the  college  catalogue  showed  that  he  must  be  seventy-five 
years  old,  if,  as  we  may  suppose,  he  was  twenty  at  the 
time  of  his  graduation. 

He  was  a  man  of  noble  presence  always,  and  now,  in 
the  grandeur  of  his  flowing  silver  hair  and  with  the  gray 
shaggy  brows  overhanging  his  serene  and  solemn  eyes, 
with  the  slow  gravity  of  motion  and  the  measured  dignity 
of  speech  which  gave  him  the  air  of  an  old  pontiff,  he  was 
an  imposing  personage  to  look  upon,  and  could  be  awful,  if 
the  occasion  demanded  it.  His  creed  was  of  the  sternest : 
he  was  looked  up  to  as  a  bulwark  against  all  the  laxities 
which  threatened  New  England  theology.  But  it  was  a 
creed  rather  of  the  study  and  of  the  pulpit  than  of  every 
day  application  among  his  neighbors.  He  dealt  too  much 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  17 

in  the  lofty  abstractions  which  had  always  such  fascinations 
for  the  higher  class  of  New  England  divines,  to  busy  him 
self  as  much  as  he  might  have  done  with  the  spiritual  con 
dition  of  individuals.  He  had  also  a  good  deal  in  him  of 
what  he  used  to  call  the  Old  Man,  which,  as  he  confessed, 
he  had  never  succeeded  in  putting  off,  —  meaning  thereby 
certain  qualities  belonging  to  humanity,  as  much  as  the 
natural  gifts  of  the  dumb  creatures  belong  to  them,  and  tend 
ing  to  make  a  man  beloved  by  his  weak  and  erring  fellow- 
mortals. 

In  the  olden  time  he  would  have  lived  and  died  king  of 
his  parish,  monarch,  by  Divine  right,  as  the  noblest,  grandest, 
wisest  of  all  that  made  up  the  little  nation  within  hearing 
of  his  meeting-house  bell.  But  Young  Calvinism  has  less 
reverence  and  more  love  of  novelty  than  its  forefathers. 
It  wants  change,  and  it  loves  young  blood.  Polyandry  is 
getting  to  be  the  normal  condition  of  the  Church ;  and 
about  the  time  a  man  is  becoming  a  little  over-ripe  for  the 
livelier  human  sentiments,  he  may  be  pretty  sure  the  wo 
men  are  looking  "round  to  find  him  a  colleague.  In  this 
way  it  was  that  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker  became 
the  colleague  of  the  Rev.  Eliphalet  Pemberton. 

If  one  could  have  dived  deep  below  all  the  Christian 
graces — the  charity,  the  sweetness  of  disposition,  the  humil 
ity  —  of  Father  Pemberton,  he  would  have  found  a  small 
remnant  of  the  "  Old  Man,"  as  the  good  clergyman  would 
have  called  it,  which  was  never  in  harmony  with  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Stoker.  The  younger  divine  felt  his  importance,  and 
made  his  venerable  colleague  feel  that  he  felt  it.  Father 
Pemberton  had  a  fair  chance  at  rainy  Sundays  and  hot 
summer-afternoon  services ;  but  the  junior  pushed  him 
aside  without  ceremony  whenever  he  thought  there  was 


18  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

like  to  be  a  good  show  in  the  pews.  As  for  those  courte 
sies  which  the  old  need,  to  soften  the  sense  of  declining 
faculties  and  failing  attractions,  the  younger  pastor  be 
stowed  them  in  public,  but  was  negligent  of  them,  to  say 
the  least,  when  not  on  exhibition. 

Good  old  Father  Pemberton  could  not  love  this  man ; 
but  he  would  not  hate  him,  and  he  never  complained  to 
him  or  of  him.  It  would  have  been  of  no  use  if  he  had : 
the  women  of  the  parish  had  taken  up  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sto 
ker  ;  and  when  the  women  run  after  a  minister  or  a  doctor, 
what  do  the  men  signify  ? 

Why  the  women  ran  after  him,  some  thought  it  was  not 
hard  to  guess.  He  was  not  ill-looking,  according  to  the 
village  standard,  parted  his  hair  smoothly,  tied  his  white 
cravat  carefully,  was  fluent,  plausible,  had  a  gift  in  prayer, 
was  considered  eloquent,  was  fond  of  listening  to  their  spir 
itual  experiences,  and  had  a  sickly  wife.  This  is  what 
Byles  Gridley  said ;  but  he  was  apt  to  be  caustic  at  times. 

Father  Pemberton  visited  his  people  but  rarely.  Like 
Jonathan  Edwards,  like  David  Osgood,  he  felt  his  call  to 
be  to  study-work,  and  was  impatient  of  the  egotisms  and 
spiritual  megrims,  in  listening  to  which,  especially  from  the 
younger  females  of  his  flock,  his  colleague  had  won  the 
hearts  of  so  many  of  his  parishioners.  His  presence  had 
a  wonderful  effect  in  restoring  the  despondent  Miss  Silence 
to  her  equanimity ;  for  not  all  the  hard  divinity  he  had 
preached  for  half  a  century  had  spoiled  his  kindly  nature ; 
and  not  the  gentle  Melanchthon  himself,  ready  to  welcome 
death  as  a  refuge  from  the  rage  and  bitterness  of  theologi 
ans,  was  more  in  contrast  with  the  disputants  with  whom 
he  mingled,  than  the  old  minister,  in  the  hour  of  trial,  with 
the  stern  dogmatist  in  his  study,  forging  thunderbolts  to 
smite  down  sinners. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  19 

,vas  well  that  there  were  no  tithingmen  about  on  that 
day,  Sunday;  for  it  shone  no  Sabbath  day  for  the 
;  men  within  half  a  dozen  miles  of  the  village.     They 
were  out  on  Bear  Hill  the  whole  day,  beating  up  the  bushes 
for  game,  scaring  old  crows  out  of  their  ragged  nests, 
i  one  dark  glen  startling  a  fierce-eyed,  growling,  bob- 
catamount,  who  sat  spitting  and  looking  all  ready  to 
jj  at  them,  on  the  tall  tree  where  he  clung  with  his 
claws   unsheathed,  until  a  young  fellow  came  up  with  a 
gun  and  shot  him  dead.     They  went  through  and  through 
the  s \vamp  at  Musquash  Hollow;  but  found  nothing  better 
than  a  wicked  old  snapping-turtle,  evil  to  behold,  with  his 
head  and  alligator  tail,  but  worse  to  meddle  with,  if 
>rny  jaws  were  near  enough  to  spring  their  man-trap 
:  curious  experimenter.     At  Wood-End  there  were 
o^inc  Indians,  ill-conditioned  savages  in  a  dirty  tent,  making 
baskets,  the  miracle  of  which  was  that  they  were  so  clean. 
They  had  seen  a  young  lady  answering  the  description, 
about  a  week  ago.      She  had  bought  a  basket.  —  Asked 
them  if  they  had  a  canoe  they  wanted  to  sell.  —  Eyes  like 
hers  (pointing  to  a  squaw  with  a  man's  hat  on). 

At  Pocasset  the  young  men  explored  all  the  thick 
woods,  —  some  who  ought  to  have  known  better  taking 
their  guns,  which  made  a  talk,  as  one  might  well  suppose  it 
would.  Hunting  on  a  Sabbath  day !  They  did  n't  mean  to 
slioot  Myrtle  Hazard,  did  they  ?  it  was  keenly  asked.  A 
good  many  said  it  was  all  nonsense,  and  a  mere  excuse  to 
get  away  from  meeting  and  have  a  sort  of  frolic  on  pretence 
that  it  was  a  work  of  necessity  arid  mercy,  one  or  both. 

While  they  were  scattering  themselves  about  in  this  way, 
some  in  earnest,  some  rejoicing  in  the  unwonted  license, 
lifting  off  for  a  little  while  that  enormous  Sabbath-day 


20  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

pressure  which  weighs  like  forty  atmospheres  on  every 
true-born  Puritan,  two  young  men  had  been  since  Friday 
in  search  of  the  lost  girl,  each  following  a  clew  of  his  own, 
and  determined  to  find  her  if  she  was  among  the  living. 

Cyprian  Eveleth  made  for  the  village  of  Maple  ton, 
where  his  sister  Olive  was  staying,  trusting  that,  with  her 
aid,  he  might  get  a  clew  to  the  mystery  of  Myrtle's  disap 
pearance. 

William  Murray  Bradshaw  struck  for  a  railroad  train 
going  to  the  great  seaport,  at  a  station  where  it  stops  for 
wood  and  water. 

In  the  mean  time,  a  third  young  man,  Gifted  Hopkins 
by  name,  son  of  the  good  woman  already  mentioned,  sat 
down,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  and  wrote  those  touching 
stanzas,  "The  Lost  Myrtle,"  which  were  printed  in  the 
next  "  Banner  and  Oracle,"  and  much  admired  by  many 
who  read  them. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  21 

CHAPTER    III. 

ANTECEDENTS. 

THE  Withers  Homestead  was  the  oldest  mansion  in 
town.  It  was  built  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river,  a 
little  above  the  curve  which  gave  the  name  to  Oxbow  Village. 
It  stood  on  an  elevation,  its  west  gable  close  to  the  river's 
edge,  an  old  orchard  and  a  small  pond  at  the  foot  of  the 
slope  behind  it,  woods  at  the  east,  open  to  the  south,  with  a 
great  row  of  Lombardy  poplars  standing  guard  in  front 
of  the  house.  The  Hon.  Selah  Withers,  Esq.,  a  descend 
ant  of  one  of  the  first  colonists,  built  it  for  his  own 
residence,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  Deeply 
impressed  with  his  importance  in  the  order  of  things,  he 
had  chosen  to  place  it  a  little  removed  from  the  cluster  of 
smaller  dwellings  about  the  Oxbow ;  and  with  some  vague 
fancy  in  his  mind  of  the  castles  that  overlook  the  Rhine 
and  the  Danube,  he  had  selected  this  eminence  on  which 
to  place  his  substantial  gambrel-roofed  dwelling-house. 
Long  afterwards  a  bay-window,  almost  a  little  room  of 
itself,  had  been  thrown  out  of  the  second  story  on  the  west 
side,  so  that  it  looked  directly  down  on  the  river  running 
beneath  it.  The  chamber,  thus  half  suspended  in  the  air, 
had  been  for  years  the  special  apartment  of  Myrtle  Hazard  ; 
and  as  the  boys  paddling  about  on  the  river  would  often 
catch  glimpses,  through  the  window,  of  the  little  girl 
dressed  in  the  scarlet  jacket  she  fancied  in  those  days,  one 
of  them,  Cyprian  Eveleth  had  given  it  a  name  which  be 
came  current  among  the  young  people,  and  indeed  furnished 


22  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

to  Gifted  Hopkins  the  subject  of  one  of  his  earliest  poems, , 
to  wit,  "  The  Fire-hang-bird's  Nest." 

If  we  would  know  anything  about  the  persons  now  living 
at  the  Withers  Homestead,  or  The  Poplars,  as  it  was  more 
commonly  called  of  late  years,  we  must  take  a  brief  inven 
tory  of  some  of  their  vital  antecedents.  It  is  by  no  means 
certain  that  our  individual  personality  is  the  single  inhab 
itant  of  these  our  corporeal  frames.  Nay,  there  is  recorded 
an  experience  of  one  of  the  living  persons  mentioned  in 
this  narrative,  —  to  be  given  in  full  in  its  proper  place,  — 
which,  so  far  as  it  is  received  in  evidence,  tends  to  show 

j  that  some,  at  least,  who  have  long  been  dead,  may  enjoy  a 
kind  of  secondary  and  imperfect,  yet  self-conscious  life,  in 
these  bodily  tenements  which  we  are  in  the  habit  of  con 
sidering  exclusively  our  own.  There  are  many  circum 
stances,  familiar  to  common  observers,  which  favor  this 
belief  to  a  certain  extent.  Thus,  at  one  moment  we  detect 
the  look,  at  another  the  tone  of  voice,  at  another  some 
characteristic  movement  of  this  or  that  ancestor,  in  our  re 
lations  or  others.  There  are  times  when  our  friends  do 
not  act  like  themselves,  but  apparently  in  obedience  to  some 
other  law  than  that  of  their  own  proper  nature.  We  all  do 
things  both  awake  and  asleep  which  surprise  us.  Perhaps 

,  we  have  cotenants  in  this  house  we  live  in.  No  less  than 
eight  distinct  personalities  are  said  to  have  coexisted  in  a 
single  female  mentioned  by  an  ancient  physician  of  unim 
peachable  authority.  In  this  light  we  may  perhaps  see  the 
meaning  of  a  sentence,  from  a  work  which  will  be  repeat 
edly  referred  to  in  this  narrative,  viz. :  "  This  body  in 
which  we  journey  across  the  isthmus  between  the  two  oceans 
is  not  a  private  carriage,  but  an  omnibus." 

The  ancestry  of  the  Withers  family  had  counted  a  mar- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  23 

tyr  to  their  faith  before  they  were  known  as  Puritans.  The 
record  was  obscure  in  some  points ;  but  the  portrait,  marked 
"Ann  Holyoake,  burned  by  ye  bloudy  Papists,  ano  15  .  . " 
(figures  illegible),  was  still  hanging  against  the  panel  over 
the  fireplace  in  the  west  parlor  at  The  Poplars.  The  fol 
lowing  words  were  yet  legible  on  the  canvas :  — 

"  Thov  hast  made  a  couenant  0  Lord  with  mee  and  my 
children  forever." 

The  story  had  come  down,  that  Ann  Holyoake  spoke 
these  words  in  a  prayer  she  offered  up  at  the  stake,  after 
the  fagots  were  kindled.  There  had  always  been  a  secret 
feeling  in  the  family,  that  none  of  her  descendants  could 
finally  fall  from  grace,  in  virtue  of  this  solemn  "  covenant." 

There  had  been  also  a  legend  in  the  family,  that  the 
martyred  woman's  spirit  exercised  a  kind  of  supervision 
over  her  descendants ;  that  she  either  manifested  herself 
to  them,  or  in  some  way  impressed  them,  from  time  to 
time ;  as  in  the  case  of  the  first  pilgrim  before  he  cast  his 
lot  with  the  emigrants,  —  of  one  Mrs.  Winslow,  a  descend 
ant  in  the  third  generation,  when  the  Indians  were  about 
to  attack  the  settlement  where  she  lived,  —  and  of  another, 
just  before  he  was  killed  at  Quebec. 

There  was  a  remarkable  resemblance  between  the  fea 
tures  of  Ann  Holyoake,  as  shown  in  the  portrait,  and  the 
miniature  likeness  of  Myrtle's  mother.  Myrtle  adopted 
the  nearly  obsolete  superstition  more  readily  on  this  ac 
count,  and  loved  to  cherish  the  fancy  that  the  guardian 
spirit  which  had  watched  over  her  ancestors  was  often  near 
her,  and  would  be  with  her  in  her  time  of  need. 

The  wife  of  Selah  Withers  was  accused  of  sorcery  in 
the  evil  days  of  1718.  A  careless  expression  in  one  of 
her  letters,  that  "  ye  Parson  was  as  lyke  to  bee  in  league 


24  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

with  ye  Divell  as  anie  of  em,"  had  got  abroad,  and  given 
great  offence  to  godly  people.  There  was  no  doubt  that  »• 
some  odd  "  manifestations,"  as  they  would  be  called  now- 
a-days,  had  taken  place  in  the  household  when  she  was  a 
girl,  and  that  she  presented  many  of  the  conditions  belong 
ing  to  what  are  at  the  present  day  called  mediums. 

Major  Gideon  Withers,  her  son,  was  of  the  very  com 
mon  type  of  hearty,  loud,  portly  men,  who  like  to  show' 
themselves  at  militia  trainings,  and  to  hear  themselves 
shout  orders  at  musters,  or  declaim  patriotic  sentiments  at 
town-meetings  and  in  the  General  Court.  He  loved  ^. 
wear  a  crimson  sash  and  a  military  cap  with  a  large  red 
feather,  in  which  the  village  folk  used  to  say  he  looked  as,* 
"  hahnsome  as  a  piny,"  —  meaning  a  favorite  flower  of  kis, 
which  is  better  spelt  peony,  and  to  which  it  was  not  unnat 
ural  that  his  admirers  should  compare  him. 

If  he  had  married  a  wife  like  himself,  there  might  prob 
ably  enough  have  sprung  from  the  alliance  a  family  pf* 
moon-faced  children,  who  would  have  dropped  into  their 
places  like  posts  into  their  holes,  asking  no  questions  of 
life,  contented,  like  so  many  other  honest  folks,  with  the 
part  of  supernumeraries  in  the  drama  of  being,  their  ward 
robe  of  flesh  and  bones  being  furnished  them  gratis,  and 
nothing  to  do  but  to  walk  across  the  stage  wearing  it.  But 
Major  Gideon  Withers,  for  some  reason  or  other,  married  a 
slender,  sensitive,  nervous,  romantic  woman,  which  ac-« 
counted  for  the  fact  that  his  son  David,  "  King  David/'  as 
he  was  called  in  his  time,  had  a  very  different  set  of  tastes 
from  his  father,  showing  a  turn  for  literature  and  sentiment 
in  his  youth,  reading  Young's  "  Night  Thoughts,"  and 
Thomson's  "  Seasons,"  and  sometimes  in  those  early  days 
writing  verses  himself  to  Celia  or  to  Chloe,  which  sounded 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  25 

just  as  fine  to  him  as  Effie  and  Minnie  sound  to  young  peo 
ple  now,  as  Musidora,  as  Saccharissa,  as  Lesbia,  as  Helena, 
•    as  Adah  and  Zillah,  have  all  sounded  to  young  people  in 
'    their  time,  —  ashes  of  roses  as  they  are  to  us  now,  and  as 
our    endearing    Scotch  diminutives  will    be  to  others  by 
and  by. 

King    David  Withers,  who  got  his  royal  prefix  partly 

because  he  was  rich,  and  partly  because  he  wrote  hymns 

occasionally,  when  he  grew  too  old  to  write  love-poems, 

married  the  famous  beauty  before  mentioned,  Miss  Judith 

Pride,  and  the  race  came  up  again  in  vigor.     Their  son, 

>  Jeremy,  took  for  his  first  wife  a  delicate,  melancholic  girl, 

^who  matured  into    a  sad-eyed  woman,  and  bore  him  two 

,  'children,  Malachi  and  Silence,  both  of  whom  inherited  her 

» temperament.    When  she  died,  he  mourned  for  her  bitterly 

almost  a  year,  and  then  put  on  a  ruffled  shirt  and  went 

,  Across,  the  river  to  tell  his  grief  to  Miss  Virginia  Wild, 

.ihere  residing.     This  lady  was  said  to  have  a  few  drops  of 

^  genuine  aboriginal  blood  in  her  veins ;    and  it  is  certain 

that  her  cheek  had  a  little  of  the  russet  tinge  which  a 

,    Seckel  pear  shows  on  its  warmest  cheek  when  it  blushes. 

'  -*-  Love  shuts  itself  up  in  sympathy  like  a  knife-blade  in 

its  handle,  and  opens  as  easily.  —  All  the  rest  followed  in 

due  order  according  to  Nature's  kindly  programme. 

Captain  Charles  .Hazard,  of  the  ship  Orient  Pearl,  fell 
,    desperately  in  love  with  their  daughter  Candace,  married 
her,  and  carried  her  with  him  to  India,  where  their  first 
and  only  child  was  born,  and  received  the  name  of  Myr 
tle,  as  fitting  her  cradle  in  the  tropics.     So  her  earliest  im 
pressions,  —  it  would  not  be  exact  to  call  them  recollections, 
^  — besides  the  smiles  of  her  father  and  mother,  were  of 
dusky  faces,  of  loose  white  raiment,  of  waving  fans,  of 
2 


26  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

breezes  perfumed  with  the  sweet  exhalations  of  sandal- 
wood,  of  gorgeous  flowers  and  glowing  fruit,  of  shady  veran 
das,  of  gliding  palanquins,  and  all  the  languid  luxury  of 
the  South.  The  pestilence  which  has  its  natural  home  in 
India,  but  has  journeyed  so  far  from  its  b"'th  place  in  these 
later  years,  took  her  father  and  mother  away,  suddenly,  in 
the  very  freshness  of  their  early  maturity.  A  relation  of 
Myrtle's  father,  wife  of  another  captain,  was  returning  to 
America  on  a  visit,  and  the  child  was  sent  back,  under  her 
care,  while  still  a  mere  infant,  to  her  relatives  at  the  01$ 
homestead.  During  the  long  voyage,  the  strange  mystery 
of  the  ocean  was  wrought  into  her  consciousness  so  deeply, 
that  it  seemed  to  belong  to  her  being.  The  waves  rocked 
her,  as  if  the  sea  had  been  her  mother ;  and,  looking  over 
the  vessel's  side  from  the  arms  that  held  her  with  tender 
care,  she  used  to  watch  the  play  of  the  waters,  until  the 
rhythm  of  their  movement  became  a  part  of  her,  almost 
as  much  as  her  own  pulse  and  breath. 

The  instincts  and  qualities  belonging  to  the  ancestral 
traits  which  predominated  in  the  conflict  of  mingled  lives 
lay  in  this  child  in  embryo,  waiting  to  come  to  maturity. 
It  was  as  when  several  grafts,  bearing  fruit  that  ripens  at 
different  times,  are  growing  upon  the  same  stock.  Her 
earlier  impulses  may  have  been  derived  directly  from  her 
father  and  mother,  but  all  the  ancestors  who  have  been 
mentioned,  and  more  or  less  obscurely  many  others,  came 
uppermost  in  their  time,  before  the  absolute  and  total  result 
of  their  several  forces  had  found  its  equilibrium  in  the 
character  by  which  she  was  to  be  known  as  an  individual. 
These  inherited  impulses  were  therefore  many,  conflicting, 
some  of  them  dangerous.  The  World,  the  Flesh,  and  the 
Devil  held  mortgages  on  her  life  before  its  deed  was  put 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  27 

in  her  hands  ;  but  sweet  and  gracious  influences  were  also 
born  with  her ;  and  the  battle  of  life  was  to  be  fought  be 
tween  them,  God  helping  her  in  her  need,  and  her  own 
free  choice  siding  with  one  or  the  other.  The  formal  state 
ment  of  this  succession  of  ripening  characteristics  need  not 
be  repeated,  but  the  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind. 

This  was  the  child  who  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of 
Miss  Silence  Withers,  her  aunt  on  the  father's  side,  keep 
ing  house  with  her  brother  Malachi,  a  bachelor,  already 
called  Old  Malachi,  though  hardly  entitled  by  his  years  to 
such  a  venerable  prefix.  Both  these  persons  had  inherited 
the  predominant  traits  of  their  sad-eyed  mother.  Malachi, 
the  chief  heir  of  the  family  property,  was  rich,  but  felt 
very  poor.  He  owned  this  fine  old  estate  of  some  hun 
dreds  of  acres.  He  had  moneys  in  the  bank,  shares  in 
various  companies,  wood-lots  in  the  town,  and  a  large  tract 
of  Western  land,  the  subject  of  a  lawsuit  which  seemed  as 
if  it  would  never  be  settled,  and  kept  him  always  uneasy. 

Some  said  he  hoarded  gold  somewhere  about  the  old 
house,  but  nobody  knew  this  for  a  certainty.  In  spite  of 
his  abundant  means,  he  talked  much  of  poverty,  and  kept 
the  household  on  the  narrowest  footing  of  economy.  One 
Irishwoman,  with  a  little  aid  from  her  husband  now  and 
then,  did  all  their  work ;  and  the  only  company  they  saw 
was  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam,  who,  as  a  relative,  claimed  a 
home  with  them  whenever  she  was  so  disposed. 

The  "  little  Indian,"  as  Malachi  called  her,  was  an  awk 
ward  accession  to  the  family.  Silence  Withers  knew  no 
more  about  children  and  their  ways  and  wants  than  if  she 
had  been  a  female  ostrich.  Thus  it  was  that  she  found  it 
necessary  to  send  for  a  woman  well  known  in  the  place  as 
the  first  friend  whose  acquaintance  many  of  the  little  peo 
ple  of  the  town  had  made  in  this  vale  of  tears. 


28  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Thirty  years  of  practice  had  taught  Nurse  Byloe  the  art 
of  handling  the  young  of  her  species  with  the  soft  firmness 
which  one  may  notice  in  cats  with  their  kittens,  —  more 
grandly  in  a  tawny  lioness  mouthing  her  cubs.  Myrtle 
did  not  know  she  was  held ;  she  only  felt  she  was  lifted, 
and  borne  up,  as  a  cherub  may  feel  upon  a  white-woolly 
cloud,  and  smiled  accordingly  at  the  nurse,  as  if  quite  at 
home  in  her  arms. 

"As  fine  a  child  as  ever  breathed  the  breath  of  life. 
But  where  did  them  black  eyes  come  from?  Born  in  Injy, 
—  that 's  it,  ain't  it  ?  No,  it 's  her  poor  mother's  eyes  to  be 
sure.  Does  n't  it  seem  as  if  there  was  a  kind  of  Injin  look 
to  'ern  ?  She  '11  be  a  lively  one  to  manage,  if  I  know  any 
thing  about  childun.  See  her  clinchin'  them  little  fists ! " 

This  was  when  Miss  Silence  came  near  her  and  brought 
her  rather  severe  countenance  close  to  the  child  for  inspec 
tion  of  its  features.  The  ungracious  aspect  of  the  woman 
and  the  defiant  attitude  of  the  child  prefigured  in  one  brief 
instant  the  history  of  many  long  coming  years. 

It  was  not  a  great  while  before  the  two  parties  in  that 
wearing  conflict  of  alien  lives,  which  is  often  called  educa 
tion,  began  to  measure  their  strength  against  each  other. 
The  child  was  bright,  observing,  of  restless  activity,  in 
quisitively  curious,  very  hard  to  frighten,  and  with  a  will 
which  seemed  made  for  mastery,  not  submission. 

The  stern  spinster  to  whose  care  this  vigorous  life  was 
committed  was  disposed  to  discharge  her  duty  to  the  girl 
faithfully  and  conscientiously ;  but  there  were  two  points 
in  her  character  and  belief  which  had  a  most  important 
bearing  on  the  manner  in  which  she  carried  out  her  lauda 
ble  intentions.  First,  she  was  one  of  that  class  of  human 
beings  whose  one  single  engrossing  thought  is  their  own 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  29 

welfare,  —  in  the  next  world,  it  is  true,  but  still  .their  own 
personal  welfare.  The  Roman  Church  recognises  this 
class,  and  provides  every  form  of  specific  to  meet  their 
spiritual  condition.  But  in  so  far  as  Protestantism  has 
thrown  out  works  as  a  means  of  insuring  future  safety, 
these  unfortunates  are  as  badly  off  as  nervous  patients 
who  have  no  drops,  pills,  potions,  no  doctors'  rules,  to  fol 
low.  Only  tell  a  poor  creature  what  to  do,  and  he  or  she 
will  do  it,  and  be  made  easy,  were  it  a  pilgrimage  of  a 
thousand  miles,  with  shoes  full  of  split  peas  instead  of 
boiled  ones ;  but  if  once  assured  that  doing  does  no  good, 
the  drooping  Littlefaiths  are  left  at  leisure  to  worry  about 
their  souls,  as  the  other  class  of  weaklings  worry  about  their 
bodies.  The  effect  on  character  does  not  seern  to  be  very 
different  in  the  two  classes.  Metaphysicians  may  discuss 
the  nature  of  selfishness  at  their  leisure  ;  if  to  have  all  her 
thoughts  centring  on  the  one  point  of  her  own  well-being 
by  and  by  was  selfishness,  then  Silence  Withers  was  su 
premely  selfish  ;  and  if  we  are  offended  with  that  form  of 
egotism,  it  is  no  more  than  ten  of  the  twelve  Apostles 
were,  as  the  reader  may  see  by  turning  to  the  Gospel  of 
St.  Matthew,  the  twentieth  chapter  and  the  twenty-fourth 
verse. 

The  next  practical  difficulty  was,  that  she  attempted  to 
carry  out  a  theory  which,  whatever  might  be  its  success  in 
other  cases,  did  not  work  kindly  in  the  case  of  Myrtle 
Hazard,  but,  on  the  contrary,  developed  a  mighty  spirit  of 
antagonism  in  her  nature,  which  threatened  to  end  in  utter 
lawlessness.  Miss  Silence  started  from  the  approved  doc 
trine,  that  all  children  are  radically  and  utterly  wrong  in 
all  their  motives,  feelings,  thoughts,  and  deeds,  so  long  as 
they  remain  subject  to  their  natural  instincts.  It  was  by 


30  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  eradication,  and  not  the  education,  of  these  instincts, 
that  the  character  of  the  human  being  she  was  moulding 
was  to  be  determined.  The  first  great  preliminary  pro 
cess,  so  soon  as  the  child  manifested  any  evidence  of  intel 
ligent  and  persistent  self-determination,  was  to  break  her 
will 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  was  a  legitimate  conclusion 
from  the  teaching  of  Priest  Pemberton,  but  it  required  a 
colder  and  harder  nature  than  his  own  to  carry  out  many 
of  his  dogmas  to  their  practical  application.  He  wrought 
in  the  pure  mathematics,  so  to  speak,  of  theology,  and  left 
the  working  rules  to  the  good  sense  and  good  feeling  of  his 
people. 

Miss  Silence  had  been  waiting  for  her  opportunity  to 
apply  the  great  doctrine,  and  it  came  at  last  in  a  very 
trivial  way. 

"  Myrtle  does  n't  want  brown  bread.  Myrtle  won't 
have  brown  bread.  Myrtle  will  have  white  bread." 

"  Myrtle  is  a  wicked  child.  She  will  have  what  Aunt  Si 
lence  says  she  shall  have.  She  won't  have  anything  but 
brown  bread." 

Thereupon  the  bright  red  lip  protruded,  the  hot  blood 
mounted  to  her  face,  the  child  untied  her  little  "  tire,"  got 
down  from  the  table,  took  up  her  one  forlorn,  featureless 
doll,  and  went  to  bed  without  her  supper.  The  next  morn 
ing  the  worthy  woman  thought  that  hunger  and  reflection 
would  have  subdued  the  rebellious  spirit.  So  there  stood 
yesterday's  untouched  supper  waiting  for  her  breakfast- 
She  would  not  taste  it,  and  it  became  necessary  to  enforce 
that  extreme  penalty  of  the  law  which  had  been  threat 
ened,  but  never  yet  put  in  execution.  Miss  Silence,  in  obe 
dience  to  what  she  felt  to  be  a  painful  duty,  without  any 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  31 

passion,  but  filled  with  high,  inexorable  purpose,  carried 
the  child  up  to  the  garret,  and,  fastening  her  so  that  she 
could  not  wander  about  and  hurt  herself,  left  her  to  her 
repentant  thoughts,  awaiting  the  moment  when  a  plaintive 
entreaty  for  liberty  and  food  should  announce  that  the  evil 
nature  had  yielded  and  the  obdurate  will  was  broken. 

The  garret  was  an  awful  place.  All  the  skeleton-like 
ribs  of  the  roof  showed  in  the  dim  light,  naked  overhead, 
and  the  only  floor  to  be  trusted  consisted  of  the  few  boards 
which  bridged  the  lath  and  plaster.  A  great,  mysterious 
brick  tower  climbed  up  through  it,  —  it  was  the  chimney, 
but  it  looked  like  a  horrible  cell  to  put  criminals  into. 
The  whole  place  was  festooned  with  cobwebs, —  not  light 
films,  such  as  the  housewife's  broom  sweeps  away  before 
they  have  become  a  permanent  residence,  but  vast  gray 
draperies,  loaded  with  dust,  sprinkled  with  yellow  powder 
from  the  beams  where  the  worms  were  gnawing  day  and 
night,  the  home  of  old,  hairy  spiders  who  had  lived  there 
since  they  were  eggs  and  would  leave  it  for  unborn  spi 
ders  who  would  grow  old  and  huge  like  themselves  in  it, 
long  after  the  human  tenants  had  left  the  mansion  for  a 
narrower  home.  Here  this  little  criminal  was  imprisoned, 
six,  twelve,  —  tell  it  not  to  mothers,  —  eighteen  dreadful 
hours,  hungry  until  she  was  ready  to  gnaw  her  hands,  a 
prey  to  all  childish  imaginations ;  and  here  at  her  stern 
guardian's  last  visit  she  sat,  pallid,  chilled,  almost  fainting, 
but  sullen  and  unsubdued.  The  Irishwoman,  poor  stupid 
Kitty  Fagan,  who  had  no  theory  of  human  nature,  saw  her 
over  the  lean  shoulders  of  the  spinster,  and,  forgetting  all 
differences  of  condition  and  questions  of  authority,  rushed 
to  her  with  a  cry  of  maternal  tenderness,  and,  with  a  tem 
pest  of  passionate  tears  and  kisses  bore  her  off  to  her  own 


32  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

humble  realm,  where  the  little  victorious  martyr  was 
fed  from  her  best  stores,  until  there  was  as  much  danger 
from  repletion  as  there  had  been  from  famine.  How  the 
experiment  might  have  ended  but  for  this  empirical  and 
most  unphilosophical  interference,  there  is  no  saying ;  but 
it  settled  the  point  that  the  rebellious  nature  was  not  to  be 
subjugated  in  a  brief  conflict. 

The  untamed  disposition  manifested  itself  in  greater  enor 
mities  as  she  grew  older.  At  the  age  of  four  years  she  was 
detected  in  making  a  cat's-cradle  at  meeting,  during  ser 
mon-time,  and,  on  being  reprimanded  for  so  doing,  laughed 
out  loud,  so  as  to  be  heard  by  Father  Pemberton,  who 
thereupon  bent  his  threatening,  shaggy  brows  upon  the 
child,  and,  to  his  shame  be  it  spoken,  had  such  a  sudden 
uprising  of  weak,  foolish,  grandfatherly  feelings,  that  a 
mist  came  over  his  eyes,  and  he  left  out  his  "  ninthly  "  al 
together,  thereby  spoiling  the  logical  sequence  of  proposi 
tions  which  had  kept  his  large  forehead  knotty  for  a  week. 

At  eight  years  old  she  fell  in  love  with  the  high-colored 
picture  of  Major  Gideon  Withers  in  the  red  sash  and  the 
red  feather  of  his  exalted  military  office.  It  was  then  for 
the  first  time  that  her  Aunt  Silence  remarked  a  shade  of 
resemblance  between  the  child  and  the  portrait.  She  had 
always,  up  to  this  time,  been  dressed  in  sad  colors,  as  was 
fitting,  doubtless,  for  a  forlorn  orphan ;  but  happening  one 
day  to  see  a  small  negro  girl  peacocking  round  in  a  flam 
ing  scarlet  petticoat,  she  struck  for  bright  colors  in  her 
own  apparel,  and  carried  her  point  at  last.  It  was  as  if  a 
ground-sparrow  had  changed  her  gray  feathers  for  the 
burning  plumage  of  some  tropical  wanderer ;  and  it  was 
natural  enough  that  Cyprian  Eveleth  should  have  called  her 
the  fire-hang-bird,  and  her  little  chamber  the  fire-hang- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  33 

bird's  nest,  —  using  the  country  boy's  synonyme  for  the 
Baltimore  oriole. 

At  ten  years  old  she  had  one  of  those  great  experiences 
which  give  new  meaning  to  the  life  of  a  child. 

Her  Uncle  Malachi  had  seemed  to  have  a  strong  likin"- 

O  O 

for  her  at  one  time,  but  of  late  years  his  delusions  had 
gained  upon  him,  and  under  their  influence  he  seemed  to 
regard  her  as  an  encumbrance  and  an  extravagance.  He 
was  growing  more  and  more  solitary  in  his  habits,  more 
and  more  negligent  of  his  appearance.  He  was  up  late  at 
night,  wandering  about  the  house  from  the  cellar  to  the 
garret,  so  that,  his  light  being  seen  flitting  from  window 
to  window,  the  story  got  about  that  the  old  house  was 
haunted. 

One  dreary,  rainy  Friday  in  November,  Myrtle  was  left 
alone  in  the  house.  Her  uncle  had  been  gone  since  the 
day  before.  The  two  women  were  both  away  at  the  vil 
lage.  At  such  times  the  child  took  a  strange  delight  in 
exploring  all  the  hiding-places  of  the  old  mansion.  She 
had  the  mysterious  dwelling-place  of  so  many  of  the  dead 
and  the  living  all  to  herself.  What  a  fearful  kind  of  pleas 
ure  in  its  silence  and  loneliness !  The  old  clock  that  Mar- 
maduke  Storr  made  in  London  more  than  a  hundred  years 
ago  was  clicking  the  steady  pulse-beats  of  its  second  cen 
tury.  The  featured  moon  on  its  dial  had  lifted  one  eye,  as 
if  to  watch  the  child,  as  it  had  watched  so  many  generations 
of  children,  while  the  swinging  pendulum  ticked  them 
along  into  youth,  maturity,  gray  hairs,  death-beds, — 
ticking  through  the  prayer  at  the  funeral,  —  ticking  with 
out  grief  through  all  the  still  or  noisy  woe  of  mourning,  — 
ticking  without  joy  when  the  smiles  and  gayety  of  com 
forted  heirs  had  come  back  again.  She  looked  at  herself 


o* 

2* 


34  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

in  the  tall,  bevelled  mirror  in  the  best  chamber. 
pulled  aside  the  curtains  of  the  stately  bedstead  whereon 
the  heads  of  the  house  had  slept  until  they  died  and  were 
stretched  out  upon  it,  and  the  sheet  shaped  itself  to  them 
in  vague,  awful  breadth  of  outline,  like  a  block  of  mon 
umental  marble  the  sculptor  leaves  just  hinted  by  the  chisel. 

She  groped  her  way  up  to  the  dim  garret,  the  scene  of 
her  memorable  punishment.  A  rusty  hook  projected  from 
one  of  the  joists  a  little  higher  than  a  man's  head.  Some 
thing  was  hanging  from  it,  —  an  old  garment,  was  it  ?  She 
went  bravely  up  and  touched  —  a  cold  hand.  She  did  what 
most  children  of  that  age  would  do,  —  uttered  a  cry  and 
ran  down  stairs  with  all  her  might.  She  rushed  out  of  the 
door  and  called  to  the  man  Patrick,  who  was  doing  some 
work  about  the  place.  What  could  be  done  was  done,  but 
it  was  too  late. 

Uncle  Malachi  had  made  away  with  himself.  That  was 
plain  on  the  face  of  things.  In  due  time  the  coroner's  ver 
dict  settled  it,  It  was  not  so  strange  as  it  seemed  ;  but  it 
made  a  great  talk  in  the  village  and  all  the  country  round 
about.  Everybody  knew  he  had  money  enough,  and  yet 
he  had  hanged  himself  for  fear  of  starving  to  death. 

For  all  that,  he  was  found  to  have  left  a  will,  dated  some 
years  before,  leaving  his  property  to  his  sister  Silence,  with 
the  exception  of  a  certain  moderate  legacy  to  be  paid  in 
money  to  Myrtle  Hazard  when  she  should  arrive  at  the 
age  of  twenty  years. 

The  household  seemed  more  chilly  than  ever  after  this 
tragical  event.  Its  depressing  influence  followed  the  child 
to  school,  where  she  learned  the  common  branches  of  knowl 
edge.  It  followed  her  to  the  Sabbath-day  catechisings, 
where  she  repeated  the  answers  about  the  federal  headship 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  35 

of  Adam,  and  her  consequent  personal  responsibilities,  and 
other  technicalities  which  are  hardly  milk  for  babes,  per 
haps  as  well  as  other  children,  but  without  any  very  pro 
found  remorse  for  what  she  could  not  help,  so  far  as  she 
understood  the  matter,  any  more  than  her  sex  or  stature, 
and  with  no  very  clear  comprehension  of  the  phrases  which 
the  New  England  followers  of  the  Westminster  divines 
made  a  part  of  the  elementary  instruction  of  young  people. 

At  twelve  years  old  she  had  grown  tall  and  womanly 
enough  to  attract  the  eyes  of  the  youth  and  older  boys, 
several  of  whom  made  advances  towards  her  acquaintance. 
But  the  dreary  discipline  of  the  household  had  sunk  into  her 
soul,  and  she  had  been  shaping  an  internal  life  for  herself  ( 
which  it  was  hard  for  friendship  to  penetrate.  Bathsheba  / 
Stoker  was  chained  to  the  bedside  of  an  invalid  mother. 
Olive  Eveleth,  a  kind,  true-hearted  girl,  belonged  to  another 
religious  communion  ;  and  this  tended  to  render  their  meet 
ings  less  frequent,  though  Olive  was  still  her  nearest  friend. 
Cyprian  was  himself  a  little  shy,  and  rather  held  to  Myrtle 
through  his  sister  than  by  any  true  intimacy  directly  with 
herself.  Of  the  other  young  men  of  the  village  Gifted 
Hopkins  was  perhaps  the  most  fervent  of  her  admirers,  as 
he  had  repeatedly  shown  by  effusions  in  verse,  of  which, 
under  the  thinnest  of  disguises,  she  was  the  object. 

Murray  Bradshaw,  ten  years  older  than  herself,  a  young 
man  of  striking  aspect  and  claims  to  exceptional  ability, 
had  kept  his  eye  on  her  of  late ;  but  it  was  generally  sup 
posed  that  he  would  find  a  wife  in  the  city,  where  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  going  to  visit  a  fashionable  relative,  Mrs. 
Clymer  Ketchum,  of  24  Carat  Place.  She,  at  any  rate, 
understood  very  well  that  he  meant,  to  use  his  own  phrase, 
"  to  go  in  for  a  corner  lot,"  —  understanding  thereby  a 


36  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

•young  lady  with  possessions  and  without  encumbrances.  If 
the  old  man  had  only  given  his  money  to  Myrtle,  Murray 
Bradshaw  would  have  made  sure  of  her ;  but  she  was  not 
likely  ever  to  get  much  of  it.  Miss  Silence  Withers,  it 
was  understood,  would  probably  leave  her  money  as  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Stoker,  her  spiritual  director,  should  indicate,  and 
it  seemed  likely  that  most  of  it  would  go  to  a  rising  educa 
tional  institution  where  certain  given  doctrines  were  to  be 
taught  through  all  time,  whether  disproved  or  not,  and 
whether  those  who  taught  them  believed  them  or  not,  pro 
vided  only  they  would  say  they  believed  them. 

Nobody  had  promised  to  say  masses  for  her  soul  if  she 
made  this  disposition  of  her  property,  or  pledged  the  word 
of  the  Church  that  she  should  have  plenary  absolution. 
But  she  felt  that  she  would  be  making  friends  in  Influential 
Quarters  by  thus  laying  up  her  treasure,  and  that  she 
would  be  safe  if  she  had  the  good-will  of  the  ministers  of 
her  sect. 

Myrtle  Hazard  had  nearly  reached  the  age  of  fourteen, 
and,  though  not  like  to  inherit  much  of  the  family  property, 
was  fast  growing  into  a  large  dower  of  hereditary  beauty. 
Always  handsome,  her  features  shaped  themselves  in  a 
finer  symmetry,  her  color  grew  richer,  her  figure  promised 
a  perfect  womanly  development,  and  her  movements  had 
the  grace  which  high-breeding  gives  the  daughter  of  a 
queen,  and  which  Nature  now  and  then  teaches  the  hum 
blest  of  village  maidens.  She  could  not  long  escape  the 
notice  of  the  lovers  and  flatterers  of  beauty,  and  the  time 
of  danger  was  drawing  near. 

At  this  period  of  her  life  she  made  two  discoveries 
which  changed  the  whole  course  of  her  thoughts,  and 
opened  for  her  a  new  world  of  ideas  and  possibilities. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  37 

Ever  since  the  dreadful  event  of  November,  1854,  the 
garret  had  been  a  fearful  place  to  think  of,  and  still  more 
to  visit.  The  stories  that  the  house  was  haunted  gained  in 
frequency  of  repetition  and  detail  of  circumstance.  But 
Myrtle  was  bold  and  inquisitive,  and  explored  its  recesses 
at  such  times  as  she  could  creep  among  them  undisturbed. 
Hid  away  close  under  the  eaves  she  found  an  old  trunk 
covered  with  dust  and  cobwebs.  The  mice  liad  gnawed 
through  its  leather  hinges,  and,  as  it  had  been  hastily 
stuffed  full,  the  cover  had  risen,  and  two  or  three  volumes 
had  fallen  to  the  floor.  This  trunk  held  the  papers  and 
books  which  her  great-grandmother,  the  famous  beauty,  had 
left  behind  her,  records  of  the  romantic  days  when  she  was 
the  belle  of  the  county,  —  story-books,  memoirs,  novels,  and 
poems,  and  not  a  few  love-letters,  —  a  strange  collection, 
which,  as  so  often  happens  with  such  deposits  in  old  fam 
ilies,  nobody  had  cared  to  meddle  with,  and  nobody  had 
been  willing  to  destroy,  until  at  last  they  had  passed  out 
of  mind,  and  waited  for  a  new  generation  to  bring  them 
into  light  again. 

The  other  discovery  was  of  a  small  hoard  of  coin. 
Under  one  of  the  boards  which  formed  the  imperfect  floor 
ing  of  the  garret  was  hidden  an  old  leather  mitten.  In 
stead  of  a  hand,  it  had  a  fat  fist  of  silver  dollars,  and  a 
thumb  of  gold  half-eagles. 

Thus  knowledge  and  power  found  their  way  to  the  sim 
ple  and  secluded  maiden.  The  books  were  hers  to  read  as 
much  as  any  other's ;  the  gold  and  silver  were  only  a  part 
of  that  small  provision  which  would  be  hers  by  and  by,  and 
if  she  borrowed  it,  it  was  borrowing  of  herself.  The  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  arid  evil  had  shaken  its  fruit  into 
her  lap,  and,  without  any  serpent  to  tempt  her,  she  took 
thereof  and  did  eat. 


38  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

BYLES    GRIDLEY,    A.  M. 

*  I  AHE  old  Master  of  Arts  was  as  notable  a  man  in  his 
JL  outside  presentment  as  one  will  find  among  five  hun 
dred  college  alumni  as  they  file  in  procession.  His  strong, 
squared  features,  his  formidable  scowl,  his  solid-looking 
head,  his  iron-gray  hair,  his  positive  and  as  it  were  cate 
gorical  stride,  his  slow,  precise  way  of  putting  a  statement, 
the  strange  union  of  trampling  radicalism  in  some  directions 
and  high-stepping  conservatism  in  others,  which  made  it 
impossible  to  calculate  on  his  unexpressed  opinions,  his 
testy  ways  and  his  generous  impulses,  his  hard  judgments 
and  kindly  actions,  were  characteristics  that  gave  him  a 
very  decided  individuality. 

He  had  all  the  aspects  of  a  man  of  books.  His  study, 
which  was  the  best  room  in  Mrs.  Hopkins's  house,  was 
filled  with  a  miscellaneous-looking  collection  of  volumes, 
which  his  curious  literary  taste  had  got  together  from  the 
shelves  of  all  the  libraries  that  had  been  broken  up  during 
his  long  life  as  a  scholar.  Classics,  theology,  especially  of 
the  controversial  sort,  statistics,  politics,  law,  medicine,  sci 
ence,  occult  and  overt,  general  literature,  —  almost  every 
branch  of  knowledge  was  represented.  His  learning  was 
very  various,  and  of  course  mixed  up,  useful  and  useless, 
new  and  ancient,  dogmatic  and  rational,  —  like  his  library, 
in  short ;  for  a  library  gathered  like  his  is  a  looking-glass 
in  which  the  owner's  mind  is  reflected. 

The   common  people  about  the  village  did  not  know 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  39 

what  to  make  of  such  a  phenomenon.  He  did  not  preach, 
many,  christen,  or  bury,  like  the  ministers,  nor  jog  around 
with  medicines  for  sick  folks,  nor  carry  cases  into  court  for 
quarrelsome  neighbors.  What  was  he  good  for  ?  Not  a 
great  deal,  some  of  the  wiseacres  thought,  —  had  "  all  sorts 
of  sense  but  common  sense," — "smart  mahn,  but  not  prahc- 
tical."  There  were  others  who  read  him  more  shrewdly. 
He  knowed  more,  they  said,  than  all  the  ministers  put  to 
gether,  and  if  he  'd  stari'  for  Representative  they  'd  like  to 
vote  for  him,  —  they  lied  n't  hed  a  smart  malm  in  the  Gin- 
eral  Court  sence  Squire  Wibird  was  thar. 

They  may  have  overdone  the  matter  in  comparing  his 
knowledge  with  that  of  all  the  ministers  together,  for  Priest 
Pemberton  was  a  real  scholar  in  his  special  line  of  study, 
—  as  all  D.  D.s  are  supposed  to  be,  or  they  would  not  have 
been  honored  with  that  distinguished  title.  But  Mr.  Byles 
Gridley  not  only  had  more  learning  than  the  deep-sea  line 
of  the  bucolic  intelligence  could  fathom ;  he  had  more  wis 
dom  also  than  they  gave  him  credit  for,  even  those  among 
them  who  thought  most  of  his  abilities. 

In  his  capacity  of  schoolmaster  he  had  sharpened  his 
wits  against  those  of  the  lively  city  boys  he  had  in  charge, 
and  made  such  a  reputation  as  "  Master  "  Gridley,  that  he 
kept  that  title  even  after  he  had  become  a  college  tutor  and 
professor.  As  a  tutor  he  had  to  deal  with  many  of  these 
same  boys,  and  others  like  them,  in  the  still  more  vivacious 
period  of  their  early  college  life.  He  got  rid  of  his  police 
duties  when  he  became  a  professor,  but  he  still  studied  the 
pupils  as  carefully  as  he  used  once  to  watch  them,  and 
learned  to  read  character  with  a  skill  which  might  have 
fitted  him  for  governing  men  instead  of  adolescents.  But 
he  loved  quiet  and  he  dreaded  mingling  with  the  brawlers 


40  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

of  the  market-place,  whose  stock  in  trade  is  a  voice  and  a 
vocabulary.  So  it  was  that  he  had  passed  his  life  in  the 
patient  mechanical  labor  of  instruction,  leaving  too  many 
of  his  instincts  and  faculties  in  abeyance. 

The  alluvium  of  all  this  experience  bore  a  nearer  resem 
blance  to  worldly  wisdom  than  might  have  been  conjec 
tured  ;  much  nearer,  indeed,  than  it  does  in  many  old 
instructors,  whose  eyes  get  fish-like  as  their  blood  grows 
cold,  and  who  are  not  fit  to  be  trusted  with  anything  more 
practical  than  a  gerund  or  a  cosine.  Master  Gridley  not 
only  knew  a  good  deal  of  human  nature,  but  he  knew  how 
to  keep  his  knowledge  to  himself  upon  occasion.  He  un 
derstood  singularly  well  the  ways  and  tendencies  of  young 
people.  He  was  shrewd  in  the  detection  of  trickery,  and 
very  confident  in  those  who  had  once  passed  the  ordeal  of 
his  well-schooled  observing  powers.  He  had  no  particular 
tendency  to  meddle  with  the  personal  relations  of  those 
about  him ;  but  if  they  were  forced  upon  him  in  any  way, 
he  was  like  to  see  into  them  at  least  as  quickly  as  any  of 
his  neighbors  who  thought  themselves  most  endowed  with 
practical  skill. 

In  leaving  the  duties  of  his  office  he  considered  himself,  as 
he  said  a  little  despondently,  like  an  old  horse  unharnessed 
and  turned  out  to  pasture.  He  felt  that  he  had  separated 
himself  from  human  interests,  and  was  henceforth  to  live  in 
his  books  with  the  dead,  until  he  should  be  numbered  with 
them  himself.  He  had  chosen  this  quiet  village  as  a  place 
where  he  might  pass  his  days  undisturbed,  and  find  a  peace 
ful  resting-place  in  its  churchyard,  where  the  gravel  was 
dry,  and  the  sun  lay  warm,  and  the  glowing  woods  of  au 
tumn  would  spread  their  many-colored  counterpane  over 
the  bed  where  he  would  be  taking  his  rest.  It  some- 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  41 

times  came  over  him  painfully  that  he  was  never  more  to 
be  of  any  importance  to  his  fellow-creatures.  There  was 
nobody  living  to  whom  he  was  connected  by  any  very  near 
ties.  He  felt  kindly  enough  to  the  good  woman  in  whose 
house  he  lived ;  he  sometimes  gave  a  few  words  of  counsel 
to  her  son ;  he  was  not  unamiable  with  the  few  people  he 
met ;  he  bowed  with  great  consideration  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Pemberton ;  and  he  studied  with  no  small  interest  the 
physiognomy  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker,  to  whose 
sermons  he  listened,  with  a  black  scowl  now  and  then,  and 
a  nostril  dilating  witli  ominous  intensity  of  meaning.  But 
he  said  sadly  to  himself,  that  his  life  had  been  a  failure,  — 
that  he  had  nothing  to  show  for  it,  and  his  one  talent  was 
ready  in  its  napkin  to  give  back  to  his  Lord. 

He  owed  something  of  this  sadness,  perhaps,  to  a  cause 
which  many  would  hold  of  small  significance.  Though  he 
had  mourned  for  no  lost  love,  at  least  so  far  as  was  known, 
though  he  had  never  suffered  the  pang  of  parting  with  a 
child,  though  he  seemed  isolated  from  those  joys  and  griefs 
which  come  with  the  ties  of  family,  he  too  had  his  private 
urn  filled  with  the  ashes  of  extinguished  hopes.  He  was 
the  father  of  a  dead  book. 

Why  "Thoughts  on  the  Universe,  by  Byles  Gridley, 
A.  M.,"  had  not  met  with  an  eager  welcome  and  a  perma 
nent  demand  from  the  discriminating  public,  it  would  take 
us  too  long  to  inquire  in  detail.  Indeed,  he  himself  was 
never  able  to  account  satisfactorily  for  the  state  of  things 
which  his  bookseller's  account  made  evident  to  him.  He 
had  read  and  re-read  his  work  ;  and  the  more  familiar  he 
became  with  it,  the  less  was  he  able  to  understand  the 
singular  want  of  popular  appreciation  of  what  he  could 
not  help  recognizing  as  its  excellences.  He  had  a  special 


42  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

copy  of  his  work,  printed  on  large  paper  and  sumptuously 
bound.  He  loved  to  read  in  this,  as  people  read  over  the 
letters  of  friends  who  have  long  been  dead  ;  and  it  might 
have  awakened  a  feeling  of  something  far  removed  from 
the  ludicrous,  if  his  comments  on  his  own  production  could 
have  been  heard.  "  That 's  a  thought,  now,  for  you  !  — 
See  Mr.  Thomas  Babington  Macaulay's  Essay  printed  six 
yeans  after  this  book."  "  A  felicitous  image  !  —  and  so 
everybody  would  have  said  if  only  Mr.  Thomas  Carlyle 
had  hit  upon  it."  "  If  this  is  not  genuine  pathos,  where 
will  you  find  it,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  And  nobody  to 
open  the  book  where  it  stands  written  but  one  poor  old 
man  —  in  this  generation,  at  least  —  in  this  generation  !  " 
It  may  be  doubted  whether  he  would  ever  have  loved  his 
book  with  such  jealous  fondness  if  it  had  gone  through  a 
dozen  editions,  and  everybody  was  quoting  it  to  his  face. 
But  now  it  lived  only  for  him  ;  and  to  him  it  was  wife  and 
child,  parent,  friend,  all  in  one,  as  Hector  was  all  in  all  to 
his  spouse.  He  never  tired  of  it,  and  in  his  more  san 
guine  moods  he  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  the  world 
would  acknowledge  its  merits,  and  his  genius  would  find 
full  recognition.  Perhaps  he  was  right :  more  than  one 
book  which  seemed  dead  and  was  dead  for  contemporary 
readers  has  had  a  resurrection  when  the  rivals  who  tri 
umphed  over  it  lived  only  in  the  tombstone  memory  of  an 
tiquaries.  Comfort  for  some  of  us,  dear  fellow-writer ! 

It  followed  from  the  way  in  which  he  lived  that  he  must 
have  some  means  of  support  upon  which  he  could  depend. 
He  was  economical,  if  not  over  frugal  in  some  of  his  hab 
its  ;  but  he  bought  books,  and  took  newspapers  and  re 
views,  and  had  money  when  money  was  needed  ;  the  fact 
being,  though  it  was  not  generally  known,  that  a  distant 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  43 

relative  had  not  long  before  died,  leaving  him  a  very  com 
fortable  property. 

His  money  matters  had  led  him  to  have  occasional  deal 
ings  with  the  late  legal  firm  of  Wibird  and  Penhallow, 
which  had  naturally  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  new 
partnership,  Penhallow  and  Bradshaw.  He  had  entire 
confidence  in  the  senior  partner,  but  not  so  much  in  the 
young  man  who  had  been  recently  associated  in  the  busi 
ness. 

Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw,  commonly  called  by  his 
last  two  names,  was  the  son  of  a  lawyer  of  some  note  for 
his  acuteness,  who  marked  out  his  calling  for  him  in  having 
him  named  after  the  great  Lord  Mansfield.  Murray  Brad 
shaw  was  about  twenty -five  years  old,  by  common  consent 
good-looking,  with  a  finely  formed  head,  a  searching  eye, 
and  a  sharp-cut  mouth,  which  smiled  at  his  bidding  with 
out  the  slightest  reference  to  the  real  condition  of  his  feel 
ing  at  the  moment.  This  was  a  great  convenience  ;  for  it 
gave  him  an  appearance  of  good-nature  at  the  small  ex 
pense  of  a  slight  muscular  movement  which  was  as  easy 
as  winking,  and  deceived  everybody  but  those  who  had 
studied  him  long  and  carefully  enough  to  find  that  this  play 
of  his  features  was  what  a  watchmaker  would  call  a  de 
tached  movement. 

He  had  been  a  good  scholar  in  college,  not  so  much  by 
hard  study  as  by  skilful  veneering,  and  had  taken  great 
pains  to  stand  well  with  the  Faculty,  at  least  one  of  whom, 
Byles  Gridley,  A.  M.,  had  watched  him  with  no  little  inter 
est  as  a  man  with  a  promising  future,  provided  he  were  not 
so  astute  as  to  outwit  and  overreach  himself  in  his  excess 
of  contrivance.  His  classmates  could  not  help  liking 
him ;  as  to  loving  him,  none  of  them  would  have  thought 


44  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

of  that.  He  was  so  shrewd,  so  keen,  so  full  of  practical 
sense,  and  so  good-humored  as  long  as  things  went  on  to 
his  liking,  that  few  could  resist  his  fascination.  He  had  a 
way  of  talking  with  people  about  what  they  were  interest 
ed  in,  as  if  it  were  the  one  matter  in  the  world  nearest  to 
his  heart.  But  he  was  commonly  trying  to  find  out  some 
thing,  or  to  produce*  some  impression,  as  a  juggler  is  work 
ing  at  his  miracle  while  he  keeps  people's  attention  by  his 
voluble  discourse  and  make-believe  movements.  In  his 
lightest  talk  he  was  almost  always  edging  towards  a  prac 
tical  object,  and  it  was  an  interesting  and  instructive 
amusement  to  watch  for  the  moment  at  which  he  would 
ship  the  belt  of  his  colloquial  machinery  on  to  the  tight 
pulley.  It  was  done  so  easily  and  naturally  that  there 
was  hardly  a  sign  of  it.  Master  Gridley  could  usually 
detect  the  shifting  action,  but  the  young  man's  features 
and  voice  never  betrayed  him. 

He  was  a  favorite  with  the  other  sex,  who  love  poetry 
and  romance,  as  he  well  knew,  for  which  reason  he  often 
used  the  phrases  of  both,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  answer 
his  purpose  with  most  of  those  whom  he  wished  to  please. 
He  had  one  great  advantage  in  the  sweepstakes  of  life: 
he  was  not  handicapped  with  any  burdensome  ideals.  He 
took  everything  at  its  market-value.  He  accepted  the 
standard  of  the  street  as  a  final  fact  for  to-day,  like  the 
broker's  list  of  prices. 

His  whole  plan  of  life  was  laid  out.  He  knew  that  law 
was  the  best  introduction  to  political  life,  and  he  meant  to 
use  it  for  this  end.  He  chose  to  begin  his  career  in  the 
country,  so  as  to  feel  his  way  more  surely  and  gradually  to 
its  ultimate  aim  ;  but  he  had  no  intention  of  burying  his 
shining  talents  in  a  grazing  district,  however  tall  its  grass 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL  45 

might  grow.  His  business  was  not  with  these  stiff-jointed, 
slow-witted  graziers,  but  with  the  supple,  dangerous,  far-see 
ing  men  who  sit  scheming  by  the  gas-light  in  the  great  cities, 
after  all  the  lamps  and  candles  are  out  from  the  Merrimac 
to  the  Housatonic.  Every  strong  and  every  weak  point 
of  those  who  might  probably  be  his  rivals  were  laid  down 
on  his  charts,  as  winds  and  currents  and  rocks  are  marked 
on  those  of  a  navigator.  All  the  young  girls  in  the  coun 
try,  and  not  a  few  in  the  city,  with  which,  as  mentioned, 
he  had  frequent  relations,  were  on  his  list  of  possible 
availabilities  in  the  matrimonial  line  of  speculation,  pro 
vided  always  that  their  position  and  prospects  were  such 
as  would  make  them  proper  matches  for  so  considerable  a 
person  as  the  future  Hon.  William  Murray  Bradshaw. 

Master  Gridley  had  made  a  careful  study  of  his  old 
pupil  since  they  had  resided  in  the  same  village.  The 
old  professor  could  not  help  admiring  him,  notwithstand 
ing  certain  suspicious  elements  in  his  character ;  for  after 
muddy  village  talk,  a  clear  stream  of  intelligent  conversa 
tion  was  a  great  luxury  to  the  hard-headed  scholar.  The 
more  he  saw  of  him,  the  more  he  learned  to  watch  his 
movements,  and  to  be  on  his  guard  in  talking  with  him. 
The  old  man  could  be  crafty,  with  all  his  simplicity,  and 
he  had  found  out  that  under  his  good-natured  manner 
there  often  lurked  some  design  more  or  less  worth  noting, 
and  which  might  involve  other  interests  deserving  protec 
tion. 

For  some  reason  or  other  the  old  Master  of  Arts  had 
of  late  experienced  a  certain  degree  of  relenting  with  re 
gard  to  himself,  probably  brought  about  by  the  expressions 
of  gratitude  from  worthy  Mrs.  Hopkins  for  acts  of  kind 
ness  to  which  he  himself  attached  no  great  value.  He 


46  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

had  been  kind  to  her  son  Gifted  ;  he  had  been  fatherly 
with  Susan  Posey,  her  relative  and  boarder  ;  and  he  had 
shown  himself  singularly  and  unexpectedly  amiable  with 
the  little  twins  who  had  been  adopted  by  the  good  woman 
into  her  household.  In  fact,  ever  since  these  little  crea 
tures  had  begun  to  toddle  about  and  explode  their  first 
consonants,  he  had  looked  through  his  great  round  specta 
cles  upon  them  with  a  decided  interest  ;  and  from  that 
time  it  seemed  as  if  some  of  the  human  and  social  senti 
ments  which  had  never  leafed  or  flowered  in  him,  for  want 
of  their  natural  sunshine,  had  begun  growing  up  from 
roots  which,  had  never  lost  their  life.  His  liking  for  the 
twins  may  have  been  an  illustration  of  that  singular  law 
which  old  Dr.  Hurlbut  used  to  lay  down,  namely,  that  at 
a  certain  period  of  life,  say  from  fifty  to  sixty  and  up 
ward,  the  ^ranrf-paternal  instinct  awakens  in  bachelors,  the 
rhythms  of  Nature  reaching  them  in  spite  of  her  defeated 
intentions ;  so  that  when  men  marry  late  they  love  their 
autumn  child  with  a  twofold  affection,  —  father's  and 
grandfather's  both  in  one. 

However  this  may  be,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Byles 
Gridley  was  beginning  to  take  a  part  in  his  neighbors' 
welfare  and  misfortunes,  such  as  could  hardly  have  been 
expected  of  a  man  so  long  lost  in  his  books  and  his  scho 
lastic  duties.  And  among  others,  Myrtle  Hazard  had 
come  in  for  a  share  of  his  interest.  He  had  met  her  now 
and  then  in  her  walks  to  and  from  school  and  meeting, 
and  had  been  taken  with  her  beauty  and  her  apparent  un 
consciousness  of  it,  which  he  attributed  to  the  forlorn  kind 
of  household  in  which  she  had  grown  up.  He  had  got  so 
far  as  to  talk  with  her  now  and  then,  and  found  himself 
puzzled,  as  well  he  might  be,  in  talking  with  a  girl  who 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  47 

had  been  growing  into  her  early  maturity  in  antagonism 
with  every  influence  that  surrounded  her. 

"  Love  will  reach  her  by  and  by,"  he  said,  "  in  spite 
of  the  dragons  up  at  the  den  yonder. 

'  Centum  fronte  oculos,  centum  cervice  gerebat 
Argus,  et  bos  unus  saepe  fefellit  amor/  " 

But  there  was  something  about  Myrtle  —  he  hardly 
knew  whether  to  call  it  dignity,  or  pride,  or  reserve,  or 
the  mere  habit  of  holding  back  brought  about  by  the  sys 
tem  of  repression  under  which  she  had  been  educated  — 
which  kept  even  the  old  Master  of  Arts  at  his  distance. 
Yet  he  was  strongly  drawn  to  her,  and  had  a  sort  of  pre 
sentiment  that  he  might  be  able  to  help  her  some  day,  and 
that  very  probably  she  would  want  his  help ;  for  she  was 
alone  in  the  world,  except  for  the  dragons,  and  sure  to  be 
assailed  by  foes  from  without  and  from  within. 

He  noticed  that  her  name  was  apt  to  come  up  in  his 
conversations  with  Murray  Bradshaw  ;  and,  as  he  himself 
never  introduced  it,  of  course  the  young  man  must  have 
forced  it,  as  conjurers  force  a  card,  and  with  some  special 
object.  This  set  him  thinking  hard ;  and,  as  a  result  of  it, 
he  determined  the  next  time  Mr.  Bradshaw  brought  her 
name  up  to  set  him  talking.  So  he  talked,  not  suspecting 
how  carefully  the  old  man  listened. 

"It  was  a  demonish  hard  case,"  he  said,  "that  old 
Malachi  had  left  his  money  as  he  did.  Myrtle  Hazard 
was  going  to  be  the  handsomest  girl  about,  when  she  came 
to  her  beauty,  and  she  was  coming  to  it  mighty  fast.  If 
they  could  only  break  that  will,  —  buj;  it  was  no  use  try 
ing.  The  doctors  said  he  was  of  sound  mind  for  at  least 
two  years  after  making  it.  If  Silence  Withers  got  the 


48  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

land  claim,  there  'd  be  a  pile,  sure  enough.  Myrtle 
Hazard  ought  to  have  it.  If  the  girl  had  only  inherited 
that  property  —  whew!  She'd  have  been  a  match  for 
any  fellow.  That  old  Silence  Withers  would  do  just  as 
her  minister  told  her,  —  even  chance  whether  she  gives  it 
to  the  Parson-factory,  or  marries  Bellamy  Stoker,  and 
gives  it  to  him  —  after  bis  wife's  dead.  He  'd  take  it  if  he 
had  to  take  her  with  it.  Earn  his  money,  —  hey,  Master 
Gridley  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  don't  seem  to  think  very  well  of  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker  ?  "  said  Mr.  Gridley,  smiling. 

"Think  well  of  him?  Too  fond  of  using  the  Devil's 
pitchfork  for  my  fancy !  Forks  over  pretty  much  all  the 
world  but  himself  and  his  lot  into  —  the  bad  place,  you 
know ;  and  toasts  his  own  cheese  with  it  with  very  much 
the  same  kind  of  comfort  that  other  folks  seem  to  take  in 
that  business.  Besides,  he  has  a  weakness  for  pretty 
saints  —  and  sinners.  That 's  an  odd  name  he  has.  More 
belle  amie  than  Joseph  about  him,  I  rather  guess ! " 

The  old  professor  smiled  again.  "  So  you  don't  think 
he  believes  all  the  mediaeval  doctrines  he  is  in  the  habit 
of  preaching,  Mr.  Bradshaw  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  I  think  he  belongs  to  the  class  I  have  seen 
described  somewhere.  'There  are  those  who  hold  the 
opinion  that  truth  is  only  safe  when  diluted,  —  about  one 
fifth  to  four  fifths  lies,  —  as  the  oxygen  of  the  air  is  with 
its  nitrogen.  Else  it  would  burn  us  all  up.' " 

Byles  Gridley  colored  and  started  a  little.  This  was 
one  of  his  own  sayings  in  "Thoughts  on  the  Universe." 
But  the  young  man  quoted  it  without  seeming  to  suspect 
its  authorship. 

"  Where  did  you  pick  up  that  saying,  Mr.  Bradshaw  ?  " 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  49 

"  I  don't  remember.  Some  paper,  I  rather  think.  It  's 
one  of  those  good  things  that  get  about  without  anybody's 
knowing  who  says  'em.  Sounds  like  Coleridge." 

"  That 's  what  I  call  a  compliment  worth  having,"  said 
Byles  Gridley  to  himself,  when  he  got  home.  "Let  me 
look  at  that  passage." 

He  took  down  "Thoughts  oil  the  Universe,"  and  got 
so  much  interested,  reading  on  page  after  page,  that  he 
did  not  hear  the  little  tea-bell,  and  Susan  Posey  volun 
teered  to  run  up  to  his  study  and  call  him  down  to  tea. 


50  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER    V. 

THE   TWINS. 

MISS  SUSAN  POSEY  knocked  timidly  at  his  door, 
and  informed  him  that  tea  was  waiting.  He  rather 
liked  Susan  Posej.  She  was  a  pretty  creature,  slight, 
blonde,  a  little  too  light,  a  village*  beauty  of  the  second  or 
third  grade,  effective  at  picnics  and  by  moonlight,  —  the  kind 
of  girl  that  very  young  men  are  apt  to  remember  as  their 
first  love.  She  had  a  taste  for  poetry,  and  an  admiration 
of  poets ;  but,  what  was  better,  she  was  modest  and  simple, 
and  a  perfect  sister  and  mother  and  grandmother  to  the 
two  little  forlorn  twins  who  had  been  stranded  on  the 
Widow  Hopkins's  door-step. 

These  little  twins,  a  boy  and  girl,  were  now  between 
two  and  three  years  old.  A  few  words  will  make  us  ac 
quainted  with  them.  Nothing  had  ever  been  known  of 
their  origin.  The  sharp  eyes  of  all  the  spinsters  had  been 
through  every  household  in  the  village  and  neighbor 
hood,  and  not  a  suspicion  fixed  itself  on  any  one.  It  was 
a  dark  night  when  they  were  left;  and  it  was  probable 
that  they  had  been  brought  from  another  town,  as  the 
sound  of  wheels  had  been  heard  close  to  the  door  where 
they  were  found,  had  stopped  for  a  moment,  then  been 
heard  again,  and  lost  in  the  distance. 

How  the  good  woman  of  the  house  took  them  in  and 
kept  them  has  been  briefly  mentioned.  At  first  nobody 
thought  they  would  live  a  day,  such  little  absurd  attempts 
at  humanity  did  they  seem.  But  the  young  doctor  came, 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  51 

and  the  old  doctor  came,  and  the  infants  were  laid  in  cot 
ton-wool,  and  the  room  heated  up  to  keep  them  warm, 
and  baby-teaspoonfuls  of  milk  given  them,  and  after  being 
kept  alive  in  this  way,  like  the  young  of  opossums  and 
kangaroos,  they  came  to  a  conclusion  about  which  they 
did  not  seem  to  have  made  up  their  thinking-pulps  for 
some  weeks,  namely,  to  go  on  trying  to  cross  the  sea  of 
life  by  tugging  at  the  four-and-twenty  oars  which  must  be 
pulled  day  and  night  until  the  unknown  shore  is  reached, 
and  the  oars  lie  at  rest  under  the  folded  hands. 

As  it  was  not  very  likely  that  the  parents  who  left  their 
offspring  round  on  door-steps  were  of  saintly  life,  they 
were  not  presented  for  baptism  like  the  children  of  church- 
members.  Still,  they  must  have  names  to  be.  known  by, 
and  Mrs.  Hopkins  was  iriuch  exercised  in  the  matter. 
Like  many  New  England  parents,  she  had  a  decided  taste 
for  names  that  were  significant  and  sonorous.  That  which 
she  had  chosen  for  her  oldest  child,  the  young  poet,  was 
either  a  remarkable  prophecy,  or  it  had  brought  with  it 
the  endowments  it  promised.  She  had  lost,  or,  in  her  own 
more  pictorial  language,  she  had  buried,  a  daughter  to 
whom  she  had  given  the  names,  at  once  of  cheerful  omen 
and  melodious  effect,  Wealthy  Amadora. 

As  for  them  poor  little  creturs,  she  said,  she  believed 
they  was  rained  down  out  o'  the  skies,  jest  as  they  say 
toads  and  tadpoles  come.  She  meant  to  be  a  mother  to 
'em  for  all  that,  and  give  'em  jest  as  good  names  as  if  they 
was  the  governor's  children,  or  the  minister's.  If  Mr. 
Gridley  would  be  so  good  as  to  find  her  some  kind  of  a 
real  handsome  Chris'n  name  for  'em,  she  'd  provide  'em 
with  the  other  one.  Hopkinses  they  shall  be  bred  and 
taught,  and  Hopkinses  they  shall  be  called.  Ef  their  fa- 


52  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

ther  and  mother  was  ashamed  to  own  'em,  she  was  n't. 
Could  n't  Mr.  Gridley  pick  out  some  pooty-sounding  names 
from  some  of  them  great  books  of  his.  It 's  jest  as  well  to 
have  'em  pooty  as  long  as  they  don't  cost  any  more  than  if 
they  was  Tom  and  Sally. 

A  grim  smile  passed  over  the  rugged  features  of  Byles 
Gridley.  "  Nothing  is  easier  than  that,  Mrs.  Hopkins," 
he  said.  "  I  will  give  you  two  very  pretty  names  that  I 
think  will  please  you  and  other  folks.  They  're  new  names, 
too.  If  they  should  n't  like  to  keep  them,  they  can  change 
them  before  they  're  christened,  if  they  ever  are.  Isosceles 
will  be  just  the  name  for  the  boy,  and  I  'm  sure  you  won't 
find  a  prettier  name  for  the  girl  in  a  hurry  than  Helmin- 
thia. 

Mrs.  Hopkins  was  delighted  with  the  dignity  and  novelty 
of  these  two  names,  which  were  forthwith  adopted.  As 
they  were  rather  long  for  common  use  in  the  family,  they 
were  shortened  into  the  easier  forms  of  Sossy  and  Minthy, 
under  which  designation  the  babes  began  very  soon  to 
thrive  mightily,  turning  bread  and  milk  into  the  substance 
of  little  sinners  at  a  great  rate,  and  growing  as  if  they  were 
put  out  at  compound  interest. 

This  short  episode  shows  us  the  family  conditions  sur 
rounding  Byles  Gridley,  who,  as  we  were  saying,  had  just 
been  called  down  to  tea  by  Miss  Susan  Posey. 

"  I  am  coming,  my  dear,"  he  said,  —  which  expression 
quite  touched  Miss  Susan,  who  did  not  know  that  it  was  a 
kind  of  transferred  caress  from  the  delicious  page  he  was 
reading.  It  was  not  the  living  child  that  was  kissed,  but 
the  dead  one  lying  under  the  snow,  if  we  may  make  a 
trivial  use  of  a  very  sweet  and  tender  thought  we  all  remem 
ber. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  53 

Not  long  after  this,  happening  to  call  in  at  the  lawyer's 
office,  his  eye  was  caught  by  the  corner  of  a  book  lying 
covered  up  by  a  pile  of  papers.  Somehow  or  other  it  seemed 
to  look  very  natural  to  him.  Could  that  be  a  copy  of 
"  Thoughts  on  the  Universe  "  ?  He  watched  his  oppor 
tunity,  and  got  a  hurried  sight  of  the  volume.  His  own 
treatise,  sure  enough  !  Leaves  uncut.  Opened  of  itself 
to  the  one  hundred  and  twentieth  page.  The  axiom  Mur 
ray  Bradshaw  had  quoted  —  he  did  not  remember  from 
what,  —  "  sounded  like  Coleridge'"  —  was  staring  him  in 
the  face  from  that  very  page.  "When  he  remembered  how 
he  had  pleased  himself  with  that  compliment  the  other  day, 
he  blushed  like  a  school-girl ;  and  then,  thinking  out  the 
whole  trick,  —  to  hunt  up  his  forgotten  book,  pick  out  a 
phrase  or  two  from  it,  and  play  on  his  weakness  with  it, 
to  win  his  good  opinion,  —  for  what  purpose  he  did  not 
know,  but  doubtless  to  use  him  in  some  way,  —  he  grinned 
with  a  contempt  about  equally  divided  between  himself  and 
the  young  schemer. 

"  Ah  ha  "  !  he  muttered  scornfully.  "  Sounds  like  Cole 
ridge,  hey  ?  Niccolo  Macchiavelli  Bradshaw  !  " 

From  this  day  forward  he  looked  on  all  the  young  law 
yer's  dcirigs  with  even  more  suspicion  than  before.  Yet 
he  would  not  forego  his  company  and  conversation  ;  for  he 
was  very  agreeable  and  amusing  to  study  ;  and  this  trick  he 
had  played  him  was,  after  all,  only  a  diplomatist's  way  of 
flattering  his  plenipotentiary.  Who  could  say  ?  Some 
time  or  other  he  might  cajole  England  or  France  or  Russia 
into  a  treaty  with  just  such  a  trick.  Shallower  men  than 
he  had  gone  out  as  ministers  of  the  great  Republic.  At 
any  rate  the  fellow  was  worth  watching. 


54  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER   VI. 

THE   USE    OF   SPECTACLES. 

THE  old  Master  of  Arts  had  a  great  reputation  in  the 
house  where  he  lived  for  knowing  everything  that  was 
going  on.  He  rather  enjoyed  it;  and  sometimes  amused 
himself  with  surprising -his  simple-hearted  landlady  and 
her  boarders  with  the  unaccountable  results  of  his  sagacity. 
One  thing  was  quite  beyond  her  comprehension.  She  was 
perfectly  sure  that  Mr.  Gridley  could  see  out  of  the  back 
of  his  head,  just  as  other  people  see  with  their  natural 
organs.  Time  and  again  he  had  told  her  what  she  was 
doing  when  his  back  was  turned  to  her,  just  as  if  he  had 
been  sitting  squarely  in  front  of  her.  Some  laughed  at  this 
foolish  notion  ;  but  others,  who  knew  more  of  the  nebu 
lous  sciences,  told  her  it  was  like  's  not  jes'  so.  Folks 
had  read  letters  laid  ag'in'  the  pits  o'  their  stomachs,  'n' 
why  should  n't  they  see  out  o'  the  backs  o'  their  heads  ? 

Now  there  was  a  certain  fact  at  the  bottom  of  this  be 
lief  of  Mrs.  Hopkins  ;  and  as  it  would  be  a  very  small  thing 
to  make  a  mystery  of  so  simple  a  matter,  the  reader  shall 
have  the  whole  benefit  of  knowing  all  there  is  in  it,  —  not 
quite  yet,  however,  of  knowing  all  that  came  of  it.  It  was 
not  the  mirror  trick,  of  course,  which  Mrs.  Felix  Lorraine 
and  other  dangerous  historical  personages  have  so  long 
made  use  of.  It  was  nothing  but  this.  Mr.  Byles  Gridley 
wore  a  pair  of  formidable  spectacles  with  large  round 
glasses.  He  had  often  noticed  the  reflection  of  objects  be 
hind  him  when  they  caught  their  images  at  certain  angles, 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  55 

and  had  got  the  habit  of  very  often  looking  at  the  reflecting 
surface  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  glasses,  when  he  seemed 
to  be  looking  through  them.  It  put  a  singular  power  into 
his  possession,  which  might  possibly  hereafter  lead  to 
something  more  significant  than  the  mystification  of  the 
Widow  Hopkins. 

A  short  time  before  Myrtle  Hazard's  disappearance, 
Mr.  Byles  Gridley  had  occasion  to  call  again  at  the  office 
of  Penhallow  and  Bradshaw  on  some  small  matter  of  busi 
ness  of  his  own.  There  were  papers  to  look  over,  and  he 
put  on  his  great  round-glassed  spectacles.  He  and  Mr. 
Penhallow  sat  down  at  the  table,  and  Mr.  Bradshaw  was 
at  a  desk  behind  them.  After  sitting  for  a  while,  Mr. 
Penhallow  seemed  to  remember  something  he  had  meant 
to  attend  to,  for  he  said  all  at  once  :  "  Excuse  me,  Mr. 
Gridley.  Mr.  Bradshaw,  if  you  are  not  busy,  I  wish  you 
would  look  over  this  bundle  of  papers.  They  look  like 
old  receipted  bills  and  memoranda  of  no  particular  use  ; 
but  they  came  from  the  garret  of  the  Withers  place,  and 
might  possibly  have  something  that  would  be  of  value. 
Look  them  over,  will  you,  and  see  whether  there  is  any 
thing  there  worth  saving." 

The  young  man  took  the  papers,  and  Mr.  Penhallow  sat 
down  again  at  the  table  with  Mr.  Byles  Gridley. 

This  last-named  gentleman  felt  just  then  a  strong  impulse 
to  observe  the  operations  of  Murray  Bradshaw.  lie  could 
not  have  given  any  very  good  reason  for  it,  any  more  than 
any  of  us  can  for  half  of  what  we  do. 

"  I  should  like  to  examine  that  conveyance  we  were 
speaking  of  once  more,"  said  he.  "  Please  to  look  at  this 
one  in  the  mean  time,  will  you,  Mr.  Penhallow  ?  " 

Master  Gridley  held  the  document  up  before  him.     He 


56  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

did  not  seem  to  find  it  quite  legible,  and  adjusted  his  spec 
tacles  carefully,  until  they  were  just  as  he  wanted  them. 
When  he  had  got  them  to  suit  himself,  sitting  there  with 
his  back  to  Murray  Bradshaw,  he  could  see  him  and  all 
his  movements,  the  desk  at  which  he  was  standing,  and 
the  books  in  the  shelves  before  him,  —  all  this  time  ap 
pearing  as  if  he  were  intent  upon  his  own  reading. 

The  young  man  began  in  a  rather  indifferent  way  to 
look  over  the  papers.  He  loosened  the  band  round  them, 
and  took  them  up  one  by  one,  gave  a  careless  glance  at 
them,  and  laid  them  together  to  tie  up  again  when  he  had 
gone  through  them.  Master  Gridley  saw  all  this  process, 
thinking  what  a  fool  he  was  all  the  time  to  be  watching  such  a 
simple  proceeding.  Presently  he  noticed  a  more  sudden 
movement :  the  young  man  had  found  something  which 
arrested  his  attention,  and  turned  his  head  to  see  if  he  was 
observed.  The  senior  partner  and  his-  client  were  both 
apparently  deep  in  their  own  affairs.  In  his  hand  Mr. 
Brudsliaw  held  a  paper  folded  like  the  others,  the  back  of 
which  he  read,  holding  it  in  such  a  way  that  Master  Grid- 
ley  saw  very  distinctly  three  large  spots  of  ink  upon  it, 
and  noticed  their  position.  Murray  Bradshaw  took  an 
other  hurried  glance  at  the  two  gentlemen,  and  then  quick 
ly  opened  the  paper.  He  ran  it  over  with  a  flash  of  his 
eye,  folded  it  again,  and  laid  it  by  itself.  With  another 
quick  turn  of  his  head,  as  if  to  see  whether  he  were  observed 
or  like  to  be,  he  reached  his  hand  out  and  took  a  volume 
down  from  the  shelves.  In  this  volume  he  shut  the  docu 
ment,  whatever  it  was,  which  he*  had  just  taken  out  of  the 
bundle,  and  placed  the  book  in  a  very  silent  and  as  it  were 
stealthy  way  back  in  its  place.  He  then  gave  a  look  at 
each  of  the  other  papers,  and  said  to  his  partner :  "  Old 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  57 

bills,  old  leases,  and  insurance  policies  that  have  run  out. 
Malachi  seems  to  have  kept  every  scrap  of  paper  that  had 
a  signature  to  it." 

"  That 's  the  way  with  the  old  misers,  always,"  said  Mr. 
Penhallow. 

Byles  Gridley  had  got  through  reading  the  document  he 
held, — or  pretending  to  read  it.  He  took  off  his  specta 
cles. 

"We  all  grow  timid  and  cautious  as  we  get  old,  Mr. 
Penhallow."  Then  turning  round  to  the  young  man,  he 
slowly  repeated  the  lines,  — 

"  '  Multa  senem  circumveniunt  incommoda,  vel  quod 
Qucerit  et  inventis  miser  abstinet,  ac  timct  uti  ; 
Vel  quod  res  omnes  timide,  gelideque  ministrat  — ' 

You  remember  the  passage,  Mr.  Bradshaw  ?  " 

While  he  was  reciting  these  words  from  Horace,  which 
he  spoke  slowly  as  if  he  relished  every  syllable,  he  kept 
his  eyes  on  the  young  man  steadily,  but  without  betraying 
any  suspicion.  His  old  habits  as  a  teacher  made  that 
easy. 

Murray  Bradshaw's  face  was  calm  as  usual,  but  there 
was  a  flush  on  his  cheek,  and  Master  Gridley  saw  the  slight 
but  unequivocal  signs  of  excitement. 

"  Something  is  going  on  inside  there,"  the  old  man  said 
to  himself.  He  waited  patiently,  on  the  pretext  of  busi 
ness,  until  Mr.  Bradshaw  got  up  and  left  the  office.  As 
soon  as  he  and  the  senior  partner  were  alone,  Master  Grid- 
ley  took  a  lazy  look  at  some  of  the  books  in  his  library. 
There  stood  in  the  book-shelves  a  copy  of  the  Corpus  Juris 
Civilis, —  the  fine  Elzevir  edition  of  1664.  It  was  bound 
in  parchment,  and  thus  readily  distinguishable  at  a  glance 
from  all  the  books  round  it.  Now  Mr.  Penhallow  was  not 
3* 


58  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

much  of  a  Latin  scholar,  and  knew  and  cared  very  little 
about  the  civil  law.  He  had  fallen  in  with  this  book  at  an 
auction,  and  bought  it  to  place  in  his  shelves  with  the  other 
"  properties  "  of  the  office,  because  it  would  look  respect 
able.  Anything  shut  up  in  one  of  those  two  octavos  might 
stay  there  a  lifetime  without  Mr.  Penhallow's  disturbing 
it ;  that  Master  Gridley  knew,  and  of  course  the  young 
man  knew  it  too. 

We  often  move  to  the  objects  of  supreme  curiosity  or 
desire,  not  in  the  lines  of  castle  or  bishop  on  the  chess 
board,  but  with  the  knight's  zigzag,  at  first  in  the  wrong 
direction,  making  believe  to  ourselves  we  are  not  after  the 
thing  coveted.  Put  a  lump  of  sugar  in  a  canary-bird's 
cage,  and  the  small  creature  will  illustrate  the  instinct  for 
the  benefit  of  inquirers  or  sceptics.  Byles  Gridley  went 
to  the  other  side  of  the  room  and  took  a  volume  of  Reports 
from  the  shelves.  He  put  it  back  and  took  a  copy  of 
"  Fearne  on  Contingent  Remainders,"  and  looked  at  that 
for  a  moment  in  an  idling  way,  as  if  from  a  sense  of  having 
nothing  to  do.  Then  he  drew  the  back  of  his  forefinger 
along  the  books  on  the  shelf,  as  if  nothing  interested  him  in 
them,  and  strolled  to  the  shelf  in  front  of  the  desk  at  which 
Murray  Bradshaw  had  stood.  He  took  down  the  second 
volume  of  the  Corpus  Juris  Civilis,  turned  the  leaves  over 
mechanically,  as  if  in  search  of  some  title,  and  replaced  it. 

He  looked  round  for  a  moment.  Mr.  Penhallow  was 
writing  hard  at  his  table,  not  thinking  of  him,  it  was  plain 
enough.  He  laid  his  hand  on  the  FIRST  volume  of  the 
Corpus  Juris  Civilis.  There  was  a  document  shut  up  in 
it.  His  hand  was  on  the  book,  whether  taking  it  out  or 
putting  it  back  was  not  evident,  when  the  door  opened  and 
Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  entered. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  59 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Gridley,"  he  said,  "  you  are  not  studying  the 
civil  law,  are  you?"  He  strode  towards  him  as  he  spoke, 
his  face  white,  his  eyes  fixed  fiercely  on  him. 

"  It  always  interests  me,  Mr.  Bradshaw,"  he  answered, 
"  and  this  is  a  fine  edition  of  it.  One  may  find  a  great 
many  valuable  things  in  the  Corpus  Juris  Civilis" 

He  looked  impenetrable,  and  whether  or  not  he  had  seen 
more  than  Mr.  Bradshaw  wished  him  to  see,  that  gentle 
man  could  not  tell.  But  there  stood  the  two  books  in  their 
place,  and  when,  after  Master  Gridley  had  gone,  he  looked 
in  the  first  volume,  there  was  the  document  he  had  shut  up 
in  it. 


60  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

MYRTLE'S  LETTER.  —  THE  YOUNG  MEN'S  PURSUIT. 

"A/OU  know  all  about  it,  Olive?"  Cyprian  Eveleth 
.1  said  to  his  sister,  after  a  brief  word  of  greeting. 

"  Know  of  what,  Cyprian  ?  " 

"  Why,  sister,  don't  you  know  that  Myrtle  Hazard  is 
missing,  —  gone  !  —  gone  nobody  knows  where,  and  that 
we  are  looking  in  all  directions  to  find  her  ?  " 

Olive  turned  very  pale  and  was  silent  for  a  moment. 
At  the  end  of  that  moment  the  story  seemed  almost  old  to 
her.  It  was  a  natural  ending  of  the  prison-life  which  had 
been  round  Myrtle  since  her  earliest  years.  When  she  got 
large  and  strong  enough,  she  broke  out  of  jail,  —  that  was 
all.  The  nursery-bar  is  always  climbed  sooner  or  later, 
whether  it  is  a  wooden  or  an  iron  one.  Olive  felt  as  if  she 
had  dimly  foreseen  just  such  a  finishing  to  the  tragedy  of 
the  poor  girl's  home  bringing-up.  Why  could  not  she  have 
done  something  to  prevent  it  ?  Well,  —  what  shall  we  do 
now,  and  as  it  is  ?  —  that  is  the  question. 

"  Has  she  left  no  letter,  —  no  explanation  of  her  leaving 
In  this  way  ?  " 

"  Not  a  word,  so  far  as  anybody  in  the  village  knows." 

"  Come  over  to  the  post-office  with  me ;  perhaps  we  may 
find  a  letter.  I  think  we  shall." 

Olive's  sagacity  and  knowledge  of  her  friend's  character 
had  not  misled  her.  She  found  a  letter  from  Myrtle  to 
herself,  which  she  opened  and  read  as  here  follows  :  — 

"  MY  DEAREST  OLIVE  :  —  Think  no  evil  of  me  for  what 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  61 

I  have  done.  The  fire-hang-bird's  nest,  as  Cyprian  called 
it,  is  empty,  and  the  poor  bird  is  flown. 

"  I  can  live  as  I  have  lived  no  longer.  This  place  is 
chilling  all  the  life  out  of  me,  and  I  must  find  another  home. 
It  is  far,  far  away,  and  you  will  not  hear  from  me  again 
until  I  am  there.  Then  I  will  write  to  you. 

"  You  know  where  I  was  born,  —  under  a  hot  sun  and 
in  the  midst  of  strange,  lovely  scenes  that  I  seem  still  to 
remember.  I  must  visit  them  again :  my  heart  always 
yearns  for  them.  And  I  must  cross  the  sea  to  get  there, 

—  the  beautiful  great  sea  that  I  have  always  longed  for 
and  that  my  river  has  been  whispering  about  to  me  ever  so 
many  years.     My  life  is  pinched  and   starved   here.     I 
feel  as  old  as  Aunt  Silence,  and  I  am  only  fifteen,  —  a 
child  she  has  called  me  within  a  few  days.     If  this  is  to  be 
a  child,  what  is  it  to  be  a  woman  ? 

"  I  love  you  dearly,  —  and  your  brother  is  almost  to  me 
as  if  he  were  mine.  I  love  our  sweet,  patient  Bathsheba, 

—  yes,  and  the  old  man  that  has  spoken  so  kindly  with 
me,  good  Master  Gridley ;  I  hate  to  give  you  pain,  —  to 
leave  you  all,  —  but  my  way  of  life  is  filling  me,  and  I 
am  too  young  to  die.     I  cannot  take  the  comfort  with  you, 
my  dear  friends,  that  I  would ;  for  it  seems  as  if  I  carried 
a  lump  of  ice  in  my  heart,  and  all  the  warmth  I  find  in 
you  cannot  thaw  it  out. 

"I  have  had  a  strange  warning  to  leave  this  place, 
Olive.  Do  you  remember  how  the  angel  of  the  Lord  ap 
peared  to  Joseph  and  told  him  to  flee  into  Egypt  ?  I 
have  had  a  dream  like  that,  Olive.  There  is  an  old  be 
lief  in  our  family  that  the  spirit  of  one  who  died  many 
generations  ago  watches  over  some  of  her  descendants. 
They  say  it  led  our  first  ancestor  to  come  over  here  when 


62  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

it  was  a  wilderness.  I  believe  it  has  appeared  to  others 
of  the  family  in  times  of  trouble.  I  have  had  a  strange 
dream  at  any  rate,  and  the  one  I  saw,  or  thought  I  saw, 
told  me  to  leave  this  place.  Perhaps  I  should  have  stayed 
if  it  had  not  been  for  that,  but  it  seemed  like  an  angel's 
warning. 

"  Nobody  will  know  how  I  have  gone,  or  which  way  I 
have  taken.  On  Monday,  you  may  show  this  letter  to  my 
friends,  not  before.  I  do  not  think  they  will  be  in  danger 
of  breaking  their  hearts  for  me  at  our  house.  Aunt  Si 
lence  cares  for  nothing  but  her  own  soul,  and  the  other 
woman  hates  me,  I  always  thought.  Kitty  Fagan  will  cry 
hard.  Tell  her  perhaps  I  shall  come  back  by  and  by. 
There  is  a  little  box  in  my  room,  with  some  keepsakes 
marked,  —  one  is  for  poor  Kitty.  You  can  give  them  to 
the  right  ones.  Yours  is  with  them. 

"  Good  by,  dearest.  Keep  my  secret,  as  I  told  you,  till 
Monday.  And  if  you  never  see  me  again,  remember  how 
much  I  loved  you.  Never  think  hardly  of  me,  for  you 
have  grown  up  in  a  happy  home,  and  do  not  know  how 
much  misery  can  be  crowded  into  fifteen  years  of  a  young 
girl's  life.  God  be  with  you  ! 

"MYRTLE  HAZARD." 

Olive  could  not  restrain  her  tears,  as  she  handed  the 
letter  to  Cyprian.  "  Her  secret  is  as  safe  with  you  as  with 
me,"  she  said.  "  But  this  is  madness,  Cyprian,  and  we 
must  keep  her  from  doing  herself  a  wrong.  What  she 
means  to  do,  is  to  get  to  Boston,  in  some  way  or  other, 
and  sail  for  India.  It  is  strange  that  they  have  not  tracked 
her.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost.  She  shall  not  go  out 
into  the  world  in  this  way,  child  that  she  is.  No ;  she 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  63 

shall  come  back,  and  make  her  home  with  us,  if  she  can 
not  be  happy  with  these  people.  Ours  is  a  happy  and  a 
cheerful  home,  and  she  shall  be  to  me  as  a  younger  sis 
ter, —  and  your  sister  too,  Cyprian.  But  you  must  see 
her ;  you  must  leave  this  very  hour ;  and  you  may  find 
her.  Go  to  your  cousin  Edward,  in  Boston,  at  once  ;  tell 
him  your  errand,  and  get  him  to  help  you  find  our  poor  dear 
sister.  Then  give  her  the  note  I  will  write,  and  say  —  I 
know  your  heart,  Cyprian,  and  I  can  trust  that  to  tell  you 
what  to  say." 

In  a  very  short  time  Cyprian  Eveleth  was  on  his  way 
to  Boston.  But  another,  keener  even  in  pursuit  than  he, 
was  there  before  him. 

Ever  since  the  day  when  Master  Gridley  had  made  that 
over-curious  observation  of  the  young  lawyer's  proceedings 
at  the  office,  Murray  Bradshaw  had  shown  a  far  livelier 
interest  than  before  in  the  conditions  and  feelings  of  Myr 
tle  Hazard.  He  had  called  frequently  at  The  Poplars  to 
talk  over  business  matters,  which  seemed  of  late  to  re 
quire  a  deal  of  talking.  He  had  been  very  deferential  to 
Miss  Silence,  and  had  wound  himself  into  the  confidence 
of  Miss  Badlam.  He  found  it  harder  to  establish  any 
very  near  relations  with  Myrtle,  who  had  never  seemed  to 
care  much  for  any  young  man  but  Cyprian  Eveleth,  and 
to  care  for  him  quite  as  much  as  Olive's  brother  as  for  any 
personal  reason.  But  he  carefully  studied  Myrtle's  tastes 
and  ways  of  thinking  and  of  life,  so  that,  by  and  by,  when 
she  should  look  upon  herself  as  a  young  woman,  and  not  as 
a  girl,  he  would  have  a  great  advantage  in  making  her  more 
intimate  acquaintance. 

Thus,  she  corresponded  with  a  friend  of  her  mother's  in 
India.  She  talked  at  times  as  if  it  were  her  ideal  home, 


64  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

and  showed  many  tastes  which  might  well  be  vestiges  of 
early  Oriental  impressions.  She  made  herself  a  rude 
hammock,  —  such  as  are  often  used  in  hot  climates,  —  and 
swung  it  between  two  elms.  Here  she  would  lie  in  the 
hot  summer  days,  and  fan  herself  with  the  sandal-wood 
fan  her  friend  in  India  had  sent  her,  —  the  perfume  of 
which,  the  women  said,  seemed  to  throw  her  into  day* 
dreams,  which  were  almost  like  trances. 

These  circumstances  gave  a  general  direction  to  his 
ideas,  which  were  presently  fixed  more  exactly  by  two 
circumstances  which  he  learned  for  himself  and  kept  to 
himself;  for  he  had  no  idea  of  making  a  hue  and  cry,  and 
yet  he  did  not  mean  that  Myrtle  Hazard  should  get  away 
if  he  could  help  it. 

The  first  fact  was  this.  He  found  among  the  copies  of 
the  city  newspaper  they  took  at  The  Poplars  a  recent 
number  from  which  a  square  had  been  cut  out.  He  pro 
cured  another  copy  of  this  paper  of  the  same  date,  and 
found  that  the  piece  cut  out  was  an  advertisement  to  the 
effect  that  the  A  i  Ship  Swordfish,  Captain  Hawkins,  was 
to  sail  from  Boston  for  Calcutta,  on  the  20th  of  June. 

The  second  fact  was  the  following.  On  the  window-sill 
of  her  little  hanging  chamber,  which  the  women  allowed 
him  to  inspect,  he  found  some  threads  of  long,  black,  glossy 
hair  caught  by  a  splinter  in  the  wood.  They  were  Myr 
tle's  of  course.  A  simpleton  might  have  constructed  a 
tragedy  out  of  this  trivial  circumstance,  —  how  she  had 
cast  herself  from  the  window  into  the  waters  beneath 
it,  —  how  she  had  been  thrust  out  after  a  struggle,  of 
which  this  shred  from  her  tresses  was  the  dreadful  wit 
ness, —  and  so  on.  Murray  Bradshaw  did  not  stop  to 
guess  and  wonder.  He  said  nothing  about  it,  but  wound 


THE   GUARDIAN  AN£EL.  65 

the  shining  threads  on  his  finger,  and,  as  soon  as  he  got 
home,  examined  them  with  a  magnifier.  They  had  been 
cut  off  smoothly,  as  with  a  pair  of  scissors.  This  was 
part  of  a  mass  of  hair,  then,  which  had  been  shorn  and 
thrown  from  the  window.  Nobody  would  do  that  but  she 
herself.  What  would  she  do  it  for  ?  To  disguise  her  sex 
of  course.  The  other  inferences  were  plain  enough. 

The  wily  young  man  put  all  these  facts  and  hints  to 
gether,  and  concluded  that  he  would  let  the  rustics  drag 
the  ponds  and  the  river,  and  scour  the  woods  and  swamps, 
while  he  himself  went  to  the  seaport  town  from  which  she 
would  without  doubt  sail  if  she  had  formed  -the  project  lie 
thought  on  the  whole  most  probable. 

Thus  it  was  that  we  found  him  hurrying  to  the  nearest 
station  to  catch  the  train  to  Boston,  while  they  were  all 
looking  for  traces  of  the  missing  girl  nearer  home.  In 
the  cars  he  made  the  most  suggestive  inquiries  he  could 
frame,  to  stir  up  the  gentlemanly  conductor's  memory. 
Had  any  young  fellow  been  on  the  train  within  a  day  or 
two,  who  had  attracted  his  notice  ?  Smooth,  handsome 
face,  black  eyes,  short  black  hair,  new  clothes,  not  fitting 
very  well,  looked  away  when  he  paid  his  fare,  had  a  soft 
voice  like  a  woman's,  —  had  he  seen  anybody  answering 
to  some  such  description  as  this  ?  The  gentlemanly  con 
ductor  had  not  noticed,  —  was  always  taking  up  and 
setting  down  way-passengers,  —  might  have  had  such  a 
young  man  aboard,  —  there  was  two  or  three  students  one 
day  in  the  car  singing  college  songs,  —  he  did  n't  care  how 
folks  looked  if  they  had  their  tickets  ready,  —  and  minded 
their  own  business,  —  and,  so  saying,  he  poked  a  young 
man  upon  whose  shoulder  a  ringleted  head  was  reclining 
with  that  delightful  abandon  which  the  railroad  train 
seems  to  provoke  in  lovely  woman,  —  "  Fare  !  " 


G6  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

It  is  a  fine  thing  to  be  set  down  in  a  great,  over-crowded 
hotel,  where  they  do  not  know  you,  looking  dusty,  and  for 
the  moment  shabby,  with  nothing  but  a  carpet-bag  in  your 
hand,  feeling  tired,  and  anything  but  clean,  and  hungry, 
and  worried,  and  every  Avay  miserable  and  mean,  and  to 
undergo  the  appraising  process  of  the  gentleman  in  the 
office,  who,  while  he  shoves  the  book  round  to  you  for 
your  name,  is  making  a  hasty  calculation  as  to  how  high 
up  he  can  venture  to  doom  you.  But  Murray  Bradshaw's 
plain  dress  and  carpet-bag  were  more  than  made  up  for  by 
the  air  and  tone  which  imply  the  habit  of  being  attended 
to.  The  clerk  saw  that  in  a  glance,  and,  as  he  looked  at 
the  name  and  address  in  the  book,  spoke  sharply  in  the 
explosive  dialect  of  his  tribe,  — 
"  Jun !  ta'tha'genlm'n'searpetbag'n'showhimupt'  thirty  one ! " 

When  Cyprian  Eveleth  reached  the  same  hotel  late  at 
night,  he  appeared  in  his  best  clothes  and  with  a  new 
valise  ;  but  his  amiable  countenance  and  gentle  voice  and 
modest  manner  sent  him  up  two  stories  higher,  where  he 
found  himself  in  a  room  not  much  better  than  a  garret, 
feeling  lonely  enough,  for  he  did  not  know  he  had  an 
acquaintance  in  the  same  house.  The  two  young  men 
were  in  and  out  so  irregularly  that  it  was  not  very  strange 
that  they  did  not  happen  to  meet  each  other. 

The  young  lawyer  was  far  more  likely  to  find  Myrtle  if 
she  were  in  the  city  than  the  other,  even  with  the  help  of 
his  cousin  Edward.  He  was  not  only  older,  but  sharper, 
better  acquainted  with  the  city  and  its  ways,  and,  whatever 
might  be  the  strength  of  Cyprian's  motives,  his  own  were 
of  such  intensity  that  he  thought  of  nothing  else  by  day, 
and  dreamed  of  nothing  else  by  night.  He  went  to  work, 
therefore,  in  the  most  systematic  manner.  He  first  visited 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  G7 

the  ship  Swordfish,  lying  at  her  wharf,  saw  her  captain, 
and  satisfied  himself  that  as  yet  nobody  at  all  correspond 
ing  to  the  description  of  Myrtle  Hazard  had  been  seen 
by  any  person  on  board.  He  visited  all  the  wharves, 
inquiring  on  every  vessel  where  it  seemed  possible  she 
might  have  been  looking  about.  Hotels,  thoroughfares, 
every  place  where  he  might  hear  of  her  or  meet  her,  were 
all  searched.  He  took  some  of  the  police  into  his  confi 
dence,  and  had  half  a  dozen  pairs  of  eyes  besides  his  own 
opened  pretty  widely,  to  discover  the  lost  girl. 

On  Sunday,  the  19th,  he  got  the  first  hint  which  encour 
aged  him  to  think  he  was  on  the  trail  of  his  fugitive.  He 
had  gone  down  again  to  the  wharf  where  the  Swordfish, 
advertised  to  sail  the  next  day,  was  lying.  The  captain 
was  not  on  board,  but  one  of  the  mates  was  there,  and  he 
addressed  his  questions  to  him,  not  with  any  great  hope  of 
hearing  anything  important^  but  determined  to  lose  no 
chance,  however  small.  He  was  startled  with  a  piece  of 
information  which  gave  him  such  an  exquisite  pang  of 
delight  that  he  could  hardly  keep  the  usual  quiet  of  his 
demeanor.  A  youth  corresponding  to  his  description  of 
Myrtle  Hazard  in  her  probable  disguise  had  been  that 
morning  on  board  the  Swordfish,  making  many  inquiries  as 
to  the  hour  at  which  she  was  to  sail,  and  who  were  to  be 
the  passengers,  and  remained  some  time  on  board,  going  all 
over  the  vessel,  examining  her  cabin  accommodations,  and 
saying  he  should  return  to-morrow  before  she  sailed, — 
doubtless  intending  to  take  passage  in  her,  as  there  was 
plenty  of  room  on  board.  There  could  be  little  question, 
from  the  description,  who  this  young  person  was.  It  was 
a  rather  delicate-looking,  dark-haired  youth,  smooth-faced, 
somewhat  shy  and  bashful  in  his  ways,  and  evidently  ex- 


68  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

cited  and  nervous.  He  had  apparently  been  to  look  about 
him,  and  would  come  back  at  the  last  moment,  just  as  the 
vessel  was  ready  to  sail,  and  in  an  hour  or  two  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  inquiry. 

Murray  Bradshaw  returned  to  his  hotel,  and,  going  to 
his  chamber,  summoned  all  his  faculties  in  state  council  to 
determine  what  course  he  should  follow,  now  that  he  had 
the  object  of  his  search  certainly  within  reaching  distance. 
There  was  no  danger  now  of  her  eluding  him  ;  but  the 
grave  question  arose,  what  was  he  to  do  when  he  stood 
face  to  face  with  her.  She  must  not  go,  —  that  was  fixed. 
If  she  once  got  off  in  that  ship,  she  might  be  safe  enough  ; 
but  what  would  become  of  certain  projects  in  which  he  was 
interested,  —  that  was  the  question.  But  again,  she  was 
no  child,  to  be  turned  away  from  her  adventure  by  cajolery, 
or  by  any  such  threats  as  common  truants  would  find  suffi 
cient  to  scare  them  back  to  th^ir  duty.  He  could  tell  the 
facts  of  her  disguise  and  the  manner  of  her  leaving  home  to 
the  captain  of  the  vessel,  and  induce  him  to  send  her  ashore 
as  a  stray  girl,  to  be  returned  to  her  relatives.  But  this 
would  only  make  her  furious  with  him  ;  and  he  must  not 
alienate  her  from  himself  at  any  rate.  He  might  plead  with 
her  in  the  name  of  duty,  for  the  sake  of  her  friends,  for  the 
good  name  of  the  family.  She  had  thought  all  these  things 
over  before  she  ran  away.  What  if  he  should  address  her 
as  a  lover,  throw  himself  at  her  feet,  implore  her  to  pity 
him  and  give  up  her  rash  scheme,  and,  if  things  came  to 
the  very  worst,  offer  to  follow  her  wherever  she  went,  if 
she  would  accept  him  in  the  only  relation  that  would  ren 
der  it  possible.  Fifteen  years  old,  —  he  nearly  ten  years 
older, — but  such  things  had  happened  before,  and  this  was 
no  time  to  stand  on  trifles. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  CO 

He  worked  out  the  hypothesis  of  the  matrimonial  offer 
as  he  would  have  reasoned  out  the  probabilities  in  a  law 
case  he  was  undertaking. 

1.  He  would  rather  risk  that  than  lose  all  hold  upon  her. 
The  girl  was  handsome  enough  for  his  ambitious  future, 
wherever  it  might  carry  him.     She  came  of  an  honorable 
family,  and  had  the  great  advantage  of  being  free  from  a 
tribe  of  disagreeable  relatives,  which  is  such  a  drawback  on 
many  otherwise  eligible  parties.     To  these  considerations 
were  to  be  joined  other  circumstances  which  we  need  not 
here  mention,  of  a  nature  to  add  greatly  to  their  force,  and 
which  would  go  far  of  themselves  to  determine  his  ac 
tion. 

2.  How  was  it  likely  she  would  look  on  such  an  ex 
traordinary  proposition  ?     At  first,  no  doubt,  as  Lady  Anne 
looked  upon  the  advances  of  Richard.     She  would  be  star 
tled,  perhaps  shocked.     What  then  ?     She  could  not  help 
feeling  flattered  at  such  an  offer  from  him,  —  him,  William 
Murray  Bradshaw,  the  rising  young  man  of  his  county,  at 
her  feet,  his  eyes  melting  with  the  love  he  would  throw 
into  them,  his  tones  subdued  to  their  most  sympathetic 
quality,  and  all  those  phrases  on  his  lips  which  every  day 
beguile  women  older  and  more  discreet  than  this  romantic, 
long-imprisoned  girl,  whose  rash  and  adventurous  enter 
prise  was  an  assertion  of  her  womanhood  and  her  right  to 
dispose  of  herself  as  she  chose.     He  had  not  lived  to  be 
twenty-five  years  old  without  knowing  his  power  with  wo 
men.     He  believed  in  himself  so  thoroughly,  that  his  very 
confidence  was  a  strong  promise  of  success. 

3.  In  case  all  his  entreaties,  arguments,  and  offers  made 
no  impression,  should  he  make  use  of  that  supreme  re 
source,  not  to  be  employed  save  in  extreme  need,  but 


70  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

which  was  of  a  nature,  in  his  opinion,  to  shake  a  resolution 
stronger  than  this  young  girl  was  like  to  oppose  to  it? 
That  would  be  like  Christian's  coming  to  his  weapon  called 
All-prayer,  he  said  to  himself,  with  a  smile  that  his  early 
readings  of  Bunyan  should  have  furnished  him  an  image 
for  so  different  an  occasion.  The  question  was  one  he 
could  not  settle  till  the  time  came,  —  he  must  leave  it  to 
the  instinct  of  the  moment. 

The  next  morning  found  him  early  waking  after  a  night 
of  feverish  dreams.  lie  dressed  himself  with  more  than 
usual  care,  and  walked  down  to  the  wharf  where  the 
Swordfish  was  moored.  The  ship  had  left  the  wharf,  and 
was  lying  out  in  the  stream.  A  small  boat  had  just  reached 
her,  and  a  slender  youth,  as  he  appeared  at  that  distance, 
climbed,  not  over-adroitly,  up  the  vessel's  side. 

Murray  Bradshaw  called  to  a  boatman  near  by  and 
ordered  the  man  to  row  him  over  as  fast  as  he  could  to 
the  vessel  lying  in  the  stream.  He  had  no  sooner  reached 
the  deck  of  the  Swordfish  than  he  asked  for  the  young  per 
son  who  had  just  been  put  on  board. 

;  "  He  is  in  the  cabin,  sir,  just  gone  down  with  the  captain," 
was  the  reply. 

His  heart  beat,  in  spite  of  his  cool  temperament,  as  he 
went  down  the  steps  leading  to  the  cabin.  The  young  per 
son  was  talking  earnestly  with  the  captain,  and,  on  his 
turning  round,  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  had  the 
pleasure  of  recognizing  his  young  friend,  Mr.  Cyprian 
Eveleth. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  71 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

DOWN    THE   RIVER. 

LOOK  at  the  flower  of  a  morning-glory  the  evening  be 
fore  the  dawn  which  is  to  see  it  unfold.  The  deli 
cate  petals  are  twisted  into  a  spiral,  which  at  the  appointed 
hour,  when  the  sunlight  touches  the  hidden  springs  of  its 
life,  will  uncoil  itself  and  let  the  day  into  the  chamber  of 
its  virgin  heart.  But  the  spiral  must  unwind  by  its  own 
law,  and  the  hand  that  shall  try  to  hasten  the  process  will 
only  spoil  the  blossom  which  would  have  expanded  in 
symmetrical  beauty  under  the  rosy  fingers  of  morning. 

We  may  take  a  hint  from  Nature's  handling  of  the 
flower  in  dealing  with  young  souls,  and  especially  with 
the  souls  of  young  girls,  which,  from  their  organization 
and  conditions,  require  more  careful  treatment  than  those 
of  their  tougher-fibred  brothers.  Many  parents  reproach 
themselves  for  not  having  enforced  their  own  convictions 
on  their  children  in  the  face  of  every  inborn  antagonism 
they  encountered.  Let  them  not  be  too  severe  in  their 
self-condemnation.  A  want  of  judgment  in  this  matter 
has  sent  many  a  young  person  to  Bedlam,  whose  nature 
would  have  opened  kindly  enough  if  it  had  only  been  trust 
ed  to  the  sweet  influences  of  morning  sunshine.  In  such 
cases  it  may  be  that  the  state  we  call  insanity  is  not  al 
ways  an  unalloyed  evil.  It  may  take  the  place  of  some 
thing  worse,  —  the  wretchedness  of  a  mind  not  yet  de 
throned,  but  subject  to  the  perpetual  interferences  of 
another  mind  governed  by  laws  alien  and  hostile  to  its 


72  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

own.  Insanity  may  perhaps  be  the  only  palliative  left 
to  Nature  in  this  extremity.  But  before  she  cornea 
to  that,  she  has  many  expedients.  The  mind  does 
not  know  what  diet  it  can  feed  on  until  it  has  been 
brought  to  the  starvation  point.  Its  experience  is  like 
that  of  those  who  have  been  long  drifting  about  on  rafts 
or  in  long-boats.  There  is  nothing  out  of  which  it  will  not 
contrive  to  get  some  sustenance.  A  person  of  note,  long 
held  captive  for  a  political  offence,  is  said  to  have  owed 
the  preservation  of  his  reason  to  a  pin,  out  of  which  he 
contrived  to  get  exercise  and  excitement  by  throwing  it 
down  carelessly  on  the  dark  floor  of  his  dungeon,  and  then 
hunting  for  it  in  a  series  of  systematic  explorations  until 
he  had  found  it. 

Perhaps  the  most  natural  thing  Myrtle  Hazard  could 
have  done  would  have  been  to  go  crazy,  and  be  sent  to 
the  nearest  asylum,  if  Providence,  which  in  its  wisdom 
makes  use  of  the  most  unexpected  agencies,  had  not  made 
a  special  provision  for  her  mental  welfare.  She  was  in 
that  arid  household  as  the  prophet  in  the  land  where  there 
was  no  dew  nor  rain  for  these  long  years.  But  as  he  had 
the  brook  Cherith,  and  the  bread  and  flesh  in  the  morning 
and  the  bread  and  flesh  in  the  evening  which  the  ravens 
brought  him,  so  she  had  the  river  and  her  secret  store  of 
books. 

The  river  was  light  and  life  and  music  and  companion 
ship  to  her.  She  learned  to  row  herself  about  upon  it, 
to  swim  boldly  in  it,  for  it  had  sheltered  nooks  but  a  little 
way  above  The  Poplars.  But  there  was  more  than  that 
in  it,  —  it  was  infinitely  sympathetic.  A  river  is  strange 
ly  like  a  human  soul.  It  has  its  dark  and  bright  days,  its 
troubles  from  within,  and  its  disturbances  from  without. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  73 

Jt  often  runs  over  ragged  rocks  with  a  smooth  surface, 
and  is  vexed  with  ripples  as  it  slides  over  sands  that  are 
level  as  a  floor.  It  betrays  its  various  moods  by  aspects 
which  are  the  commonplaces  of  poetry,  as  smiles  and  dim 
ples  and  wrinkles  and  frowns.  Its  face  is  full  of  winking 
eyes,  when  the  scattering  rain-drops  first  fall  upon  it,  and 
it  scowls  back  at  the  storm-cloud,  as  with  knitted  brows, 
when  the  winds  are  let  loose.  It  talks,  too,  in  its  own 
simple  dialect,  murmuring,  as  it  were,  with  busy  lips  all 
the  way  to  the  ocean,  as  children  seeking  the  mother's 
breast  and  impatient  of  delay.  Prisoners  who  know  what 
a  flower  or  an  insect  has  been  to  them  in  their  solitary 
cell,  invalids  who  have  employed  their  vacant  minds  in 
studying  the  patterns  of  paper-hangings  on  the  walls  of 
their  sick-chambers,  can  tell  what  the  river  was  to  the 
lonely,  imaginative  creature  who  used  to  sit  looking  into 
its  depths,  hour  after  hour,  from  the  airy  height  of  the 
Fire-hang-bird's  Nest. 

Of  late  a  thought  had  mingled  with  her  fancies  which 
had  given  to  the  river  the  aspect  of  something  more  than 
a  friend  and  a  companion.  It  appeared  all  at  once  as  a 
Deliverer.  Did  not  its  waters  lead,  after  long  wanderings, 
to  the  great  highway  of  the  world,  and  open  to  her  the 
gates  of  those  cities  from  which  she  could  take  her  depart 
ure  unchallenged  towards  the  lands  of  the  morning  or  of 
the  sunset  ?  Often,  after  a  freshet,  she  had  seen  a  child's 
miniature  boat  floating  down  on  its  side  past  her  window, 
and  traced  it  in  imagination  back  to  some  crystal  brook 
flowing  by  the  door  of  a  cottage  far  up  a  blue  moun 
tain  in  the  distance.  So  she  now  began  to  follow  down 
the  stream  the  airy  shallop  that  held  her  bright  fancies. 
These  dreams  of  hers  were  colored  by  the  rainbows  of  an 

4 


74  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

enchanted  fountain,  —  the  books  of  adventure,  the  ro 
mances,  the  stories  which  fortune  had  placed  in  her  hands, 
—  the  same  over  which  the  heart  of  the  Pride  of  the 
County  had  throbbed  in  the  last  century,  and  on  the 
pages  of  some  of  which  the  traces  of  her  tears  might  still 
be  seen. 

The  literature  which  was  furnished  for  Myrtle's  im 
provement  was  chiefly  of  a  religious  character,  and,  how 
ever  interesting  and  valuable  to  those  to  whom  it  was 
adapted,  had  not  been  chosen  with  any  wise  regard  to  its 
fitness  for  her  special  conditions.  Of  what  use  was  it  to 
offer  books  like  the  "  Saint's  Rest "  to  a  child  whose  idea 
of  happiness  was  in  perpetual  activity  ?  She  read  "  Pil 
grim's  Progress,"  it  is  true,  with  great  delight.  She  liked 
the  idea  of  travelling  with  a  pack  on  one's  back,  the  odd 
shows  at  the  House  of  the  Interpreter,  the  fighting,  the 
adventures,  the  pleasing  young  ladies  at  the  palace  the 
name  of  which  was  Beautiful,  and  their  very  interesting 
museum  of  curiosities.  As  for  the  allegorical  meaning,  it 
went  through  her  consciousness  like  a  peck  of  wheat 
through  a  bushel  measure  with  the  bottom  out,  —  withoul 
touching. 

But  the  very  first  book  she  got  hold  of  out  of  the  hid 
den  treasury  threw  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  quite  into 
the  shade.  It  was  the  story  of  a  youth  who  ran  away 
and  lived  on  an  island,  —  one  Crusoe,  —  a  homely  nar 
rative,  but  evidently  true,  though  full  of  remarkable  ad 
ventures.  There  too  was  the  history,  coming  mucl 
nearer  home,  of  Deborah  Sampson,  the  young  woman  whc 
served  as  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  with  a  por 
trait  of  her  in  man's  attire,  looking  intrepid  rather  thai 
lovely.  A  virtuous  young  female  she  was,  and  marriec 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  75 

well,  as  she  deserved  to,  and  raised  a  family  with  as  good 
a  name  as  wife  and  mother  as  the  best  of  them.  But 
perhaps  not  one  of  these  books  and  stories  took  such  hold 
of  her  imagination  as  the  tale  of  Rasselas,  which  most 
young  persons  find  less  entertaining  than  the  Vicar  of 
Wakefield,  with  which  it  is  now-a-days  so  commonly 
bound  up.  It  was  the  prince's  discontent  in  the  Happy 
Valley,  the  iron  gate  opening  to  the  sound  of  music,  and 
closing  forever  on  those  it  admitted,  the  rocky  boundaries 
of  the  imprisoning  valley,  the  visions  of  the  world  beyond, 
the  projects  of  escape,  and  the  long  toil  which  ended  in 
their  accomplishment,  which  haunted  her  sleeping  and 
waking.  She  too  was  a  prisoner,  but  it  was  not  in  the 
Happy  Valley.  Of  the  romances  and  the  love-letters  we 
must  take  it  for  granted  that  she  selected  wisely,  and  read 
discreetly ;  at  least  we  know  nothing  to  the  contrary. 

There  were  mysterious  reminiscences  and  hints  of  her 
past  coming  over  her  constantly.  It  was  in  the  course  of 
the  long,  weary  spring  before  her  disappearance,  that  a 
dangerous  chord  was  struck  which  added  to  her  growing 
restlessness.  In  an  old  closet  were  some  sea-shells  and 
coral-fans,  and  dried  star-fishes  and  sea-horses,  and  a  nat 
ural  mummy  of  a  rough-skinned  dog-fish.  She  had  not 
thought  of  -them  for  years,  but  now  she  felt  impelled  to  look 
after  them.  The  dim  sea  odors  which  still  clung  to  them 
penetrated  to  the  very  inmost  haunts  of  memory,  and  called 
up  that  longing  for  the  ocean  breeze  which  those  who  have 
once  breathed  and  salted  their  blood  with  it  never  get  over, 
and  which  makes  the  sweetest  inland  airs  seem  to  them  at 
last  tame  and  tasteless.  She  held  a  tiger-shell  to  her  ear, 
and  listened  to  that  low,  sleepy  murmur,  whether  in  the 
sense  or  in  the  soul  we  hardly  know,  like  that  which  had 


76  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

so  often  been  her  lullaby,  —  a  memory  of  the  sea,  as  Lan- 
dor  and  Wordsworth  have  sung. 

"  You  are  getting  to  look  like  your  father,"  Aunt  Silence 
said  one  day  ;  "  I  never  saw  it  before.  I  always  thought 
you  took  after  old  Major  Gideon  Withers.  Well,  I  hope 
you  won't  come  to  an  early  grave  like  poor  Charles,  —  or, 
at  any  rate,  that  you  may  be  prepared." 

It  did  not  seem  very  likely  that  the  girl  was  going  out 
of  the  world  at  present,  but  she  looked  Miss  Silence  in  the 
face  very  seriously,  and  said,  "  Why  not  an  early  grave, 
aunt,  if  this  world  is  such  a  bad  place  as  you  say  it  is  ?  " 

"  I  'm  afraid  you  are  not  fit  for  a  better." 

She  wondered  if  Silence  Withers  and  Cynthia  Badlam 
were  just  ripe  for  heaven. 

For  some  months  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam,  who,  as  was 
said,  had  been  an  habitual  visitor  at  The  Poplars,  had 
lived  there  as  a  permanent  resident.  Between  her  and 
Silence  Withers,  Myrtle  Hazard  found  no  rest  for  her 
soul.  Each  of  them  was  for  untwisting  the  morning-glory 
without  waiting  for  the  sunshine  to  do  it.  Each  had  her 
own  wrenches  and  pincers  to  use  for  that  purpose.  All 
this  promised  little  for  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
young  girl,  who,  if  her  will  could  not  be  broken  by  impris 
onment  and  starvation  at  three  years  old,  was  not  likely  to 
be  over-tractable  to  any  but  gentle  and  reasonable  treat 
ment  at  fifteen. 

Aunt  Silence's  engine  was  responsibility,  —  her  own  re 
sponsibility,  and  the  dreadful  consequences  which  would 
follow  to  her,  Silence,  if  Myrtle  should  in  any  way  go 
wrong.  Ever  since  her  failure  in  that  moral  coup  d'etat 
by  which  the  sinful  dynasty  of  the  natural  self-determining 
power  was  to  be  dethroned,  her  attempts  in  the  way  of 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  77 

education  had  been  a  series  of  feeble  efforts  followed  by 
plaintive  wails  over  their  utter  want  of  success.  The  face 
she  turned  upon  the  young  girl  in  her  solemn  expostulations 
looked  as  if  it  were  inscribed  with  the»epitaphs  of  hope  and 
virtue.  Pier  utterances  were  pitched  in  such  a  forlorn 
tone,  that  the  little  bird  in  his  cage,  who  always  began 
twittering  at  the  sound  of  Myrtle's  voice,  would  stop  in  his 
song,  and  cock  his  head  with  a  look  of  inquiry  full  of  pa 
thos,  as  if  he  wanted  to  know  what  was  the  matter,  and 
whether  he  could  do  anything  to  help. 

The  specialty  of  Cynthia  Badlam  was  to  point  out  all  the 
dangerous  and  unpardonable  transgressions  into  which  young 
people  generally,  and  this  young  person  in  particular,  were 
likely  to  run,  to  hold  up  examples  of  those  who  had  fallen 
into  evil  ways  and  come  to  an  evil  end,  to  present  the  most 
exalted  standard  of  ascetic  virtue  to  the  lively  girl's  appre 
hension,  leading  her  naturally  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
bright  example  of  excellence  stood  before  her  in  the  irre 
proachable  relative  who  addressed  her.  Especially  with 
regard  to  the  allurements  which  the  world  offers  to  the 
young  and  inexperienced  female,  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam 
was  severe  and  eloquent.  Sometimes  poor  Myrtle  would 
stare,  not  seeing  the  meaning  of  her  wise  caution,  some 
times  look  at  Miss  Cynthia  with  a  feeling  that  there  was 
something  about  her  that  was  false  and  forced,  that  she  had 
nothing  in  common  with  young  people,  that  she  had  no 
pity  for  them,  only  hatred  of  their  sins,  whatever  these 
might  be,  —  a  hatred  which  seemed  to  extend  to  those 
sources  of  frequent  temptation,  youth  and  beauty,  as  if  they 
were  in  themselves  objectionable. 

Both  the  lone  women  at  The  Poplars  were  gifted  with  a 
thin  vein  of  music.  They  gave  it  expression  in  psalmody, 


78  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

of  course,  in  which  Myrtle,  who  was  a  natural  singer,  was 
expected  to  bear  her  part,  This  would  have  been  pleas- 
anter  if  the  airs  most  frequently  selected  had  been  cheerful 
or  soothing,  and  if  the  favorite  hymns  had  been  of  a  sort  to 
inspire  a  love  for  what  was  lovely  in  this  life,  and  to  give 
some  faint  foretaste  of  the  harmonies  of  a  better  world  to 
come.  But  there  is  a  fondness  for  minor  keys  and  wailing 
cadences  common  to  the  monotonous  chants  of  cannibals 
and  savages  generally,  to  such  war-songs  as  the  wild,  im 
placable  "  Marseillaise,"  and  to  the  favorite  tunes  of  low- 
spirited  Christian  pessimists.  That  mournful  "  China/' 
which  one  of  our  most  agreeable  story-tellers  has  justly 
singled  out  as  the  cry  of  despair  itself,  was  often  sung 
at  The  Poplars,  sending  such  a  sense  of  utter  misery 
through  the  house,  that  poor  Kitty  Fagan  would  cross  her 
self,  and  wring  her  hands,  and  think  of  funerals,  and  won 
der  who  was  going  to  die,  —  for  she  fancied  she  heard  the 
Banshee's  warning  in  those  most  dismal  ululations. 

On  the  first  Saturday  of  June,  a  fortnight  before  her 
disappearance,  Myrtle  strolled  off  by  the  river-shore,  along 
its  lonely  banks,  and  came  home  with  her  hands  full  of 
leaves  and  blossoms.  Silence  Withers  looked  at  them 
as  if  they  were  a  kind  of  melancholy  manifestation  of 
frivolity  on  the  part  of  the  wicked  old  earth.  Not  that 
she  did  not  inhale  their  faint  fragrance  with  a  certain 
pleasure,  and  feel  their  beauty  as  none  whose  souls  are 
not  wholly  shrivelled  and  hardened  can  help  doing,  but 
the  world  was,  in  her  estimate,  a  vale  of  tears,  and  it  was 
only  by  a  momentary  forgetfulness  that  she  could  be  moved 
to  smile  at  anything. 

Miss  Cynthia,  a  sharper-edged  woman,  had  formed  the 
habit  of  crushing  everything  for  its  moral,  until  it  lost  its 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  79 

sweetness  and  grew  almost  odious,  as  flower-de-luces  do 
when  handled  roughly.  "  There  's  a  worm  in  that  leaf, 
Myrtle.  lie  has  rolled  it  all  round  him,  and  hidden  him 
self  from  sight ;  but  there  is  a  horrid  worm  in  it,  for  all  it 
is  so  young  and  fresh.  There  is  a  worm  in  every  young 
soul,  Myrtle." 

"  But  there  is  not  a  worm  in  every  leaf,  Miss  Cynthia. 
Look,"  she  said,  "  all  these  are  open,  and  you  can  see  all 
over  and  under  them,  and  there  is  nothing  there.  Are 
there  never  any  worms  in  the  leaves  after  they  get  old  and 
yellow,  Miss  Cynthia  ?  " 

That  was  a  pretty  fair  hit  for  a  simple  creature  of  fifteen, 
—  but  perhaps  she  was  not  so  absolutely  simple  as  one 
might  have  thought. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  this  same  day  that  they  were 
sitting  together.  The  sweet  season  was  opening,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  the  whispering  of  the  leaves,  the  voices  of  the 
birds,  the  softness  of  the  air,  the  young  life  stirring  in 
everything,  called  on  all  creatures  to  join  the  universal 
chorus  of  praise  that  was  going  up  around  them. 

"  What  shall  we  sing  this  evening  ?  "  said  Miss  Silence. 

"  Give  me  one  of  the  books,  if  you  please,  Cousin  Si 
lence,"  said  Miss  Cynthia.  "  It  is  Saturday  evening. 
Holy  time  has  begun.  Let  us  prepare  our  minds  for  the 
solemnities  of  the  Sabbath." 

She  took  the  book,  one  well  known  to  the  schools  and 
churches  of  this  nineteenth  century. 

"  Book  Second.  Hymn  44.  Long  metre.  I  guess 
*  Putney  '  will  be  as  good  a  tune  as  any  to  sing  it  to." 

The  trio  began,  — 

"  With  holy  fear,  and  humble  song, "  — 
and  got  through  the  first  verse  together  pretty  well. 


80  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Then  came  the  second  verse :  — 

"  Far  in  the  deep  where  darkness  dwells, 
The  land  of  horror  and  despair, 
Justice  has  built  a  dismal  hell, 
And  laid  her  stores  of  vengeance  there." 

Myrtle's  voice  trembled  a  little  in  singing  this  verse,  and 
she  hardly  kept  up  her  part  with  proper  spirit. 

"  Sing  out,  Myrtle,"  said  Miss  Cynthia,  and  she  struck 
up  the  third  verse  :  — 

"  Eternal  plagues  and  heavy  chains, 
Tormenting  racks  and  fiery  coals, 
And  darts  t'  inflict  immortal  pains, 
Dyed  in  the  blood  of  damned  souls." 

This  last  verse  was  a  duet,  and  not  a  trio.  Myrtle 
closed  her  lips  while  it  was  singing,  and  when  it  was  done 
threw  down  the  book  with  a  look  of  anger  and  disgust. 
The  hunted  soul  was  at  bay. 

"  I  won't  sing  such  words,"  she  said,  "  and  I  won't  stay 
here  to  hear  them  sung.  The  boys  in  the  streets  say  just 
such  words  as  that,  and  I  am  not  going  to  sing  them. 
You  can't  scare  me  into  being  good  with  your  cruel  hymn- 
book  ! " 

She  could  not  swear :  she  was  not  a  boy.  She  would 
not  cry :  she  felt  proud,  obdurate,  scornful,  outraged.  All 
these  images,  borrowed  from  the  Holy  Inquisition,  were 
meant  to  frighten  her,  and  had  simply  irritated  her.  The 
blow  of  a  weapon  that  glances  off,  stinging,  but  not  pene 
trating,  only  enrages.  It  was  a  moment  of  fearful  danger 
to  her  character,  to  her  life  itself. 

Without  heeding  the  cries  of  the  two  women,  she  sprang 
up  stairs  to  her  hanging  chamber.  She  threw  open  the 
window  and  looked  down  into  the  stream.  For  one  mo- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  81 

ment  her  head  swam  with  the  sudden,  overwhelming, 
almost  maddening  thought  that  came  over  her,  —  the  im 
pulse  to  fling  herself  headlong  into  those  running  waters 
and  dare  the  worst  these  dreadful  women  had  threatened 
her  with.  Something  —  she  often  thought  afterwards  it 
was  an  invisible  hand  —  held  her  back  during  that  brief 
moment,  and  the  paroxysm — just  such  a  paroxysm  as 
throws  many  a  young  girl  into  the  Thames  or  the  Seine  — 
passed  away.  She  remained  looking,  in  a  misty  dream, 
into  the  water  far  below.  Its  murmur  recalled  the  whis 
per  of  the  ocean  waves.  And  through  the  depths  it  seemed 
as  if  she  saw  into  that  strange,  half-remembered  world  of 
palm-trees  and  white  robes  and  dusky  faces,  and  amidst 
them,  looking  upon  her  with  ineffable  love  and  tender 
ness,  until  all  else  faded  from  her  sight,  the  face  of  a  fair 
woman,  —  was  it  hers,  so  long,  long  dead,  or  that  dear 
young  mother's  who  was  to  her  -less  a  recollection  than 
a  dream  ? 

Could  it  have  been  this  vision  that  soothed  her,  so  that 
she  unclasped  her  hands  and  lifted  her  bowed  head  as  if 
she  had  heard  a  voice  whispering  to  her  from  that  unknown 
world  where  she  felt  there  was  a  spirit  watching  over  her  ? 
At  any  rate,  her  face  was  never  more  serene  than  when 
she  went  to  meeting  with  the  two  maiden  ladies  on  the  fol 
lowing  day,  Sunday,  and  heard  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  preach 
a  sermon  from  Luke  vii.  48,  which  made  both  the  women 
shed  tears,  but  especially  so  excited  Miss  Cynthia  that  she 
was  in  a  kind  of  half-hysteric  condition  all  the  rest  of  the 
day. 

After  that  Myrtle  was  quieter  and  more  docile  than 
ever  before.  Could  it  be,  Miss  Silence  thought,  th'at  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Stoker's  sermon  had  touched  her  hard  heart? 

4*  F 


82  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

However  that  was,  she  did  not  once  wear  the  stormy  look 
with  which  she  had  often  met  the  complaining  remon 
strances  Miss  Silence  constantly  directed  against  all  the 
spontaneous  movements  of  the  youthful  and  naturally  viva 
cious  subject  of  her  discipline. 

June  is  an  uncertain  month,  as  everybody  knows,  and 
there  were  frosts  in  many  parts  of  New  England  in  the 
June  of  1859.  But  there  were  also  beautiful  days  and 
nights,  and  the  sun  was  warm  enough  to  be  fast  ripening 
the  strawberries,  —  also  certain  plans  which  had  been  in 
flower  some  little  time.  Some  preparations  had  been  going 
on  in  a  quiet  way,  so  that  at  the  right  moment  a  decisive 
movement  could  be  made.  Myrtle  knew  how  to  use  her 
needle,  and  always  had  a  dexterous  way  of  shaping  any 
article  of  dress  or  ornament,  —  a  natural  gift  not  very  rare, 
but  sometimes  very  needful,  as  it  was  now. 

On  the  morning  of  the  loth  of  June  she  was  wandering 
by  the  shores  of  the  river,  some  distance  above  The  Pop 
lars,  when  a  boat  came  drifting  along  by  her,  evidently 
broken  loose  from  its  fastenings  farther  up  the  stream.  It 
was  common  for  Such  waifs  to  show  themselves  after  heavy 
rains  had  swollen  the  river.  They  might  have  run  the 
gauntlet  of  nobody  could  tell  how  many  farms,  and  perhaps 
passed  by  half  a  dozen  towns  and  villages  in  the  night,  so 
that,  if  of  common,  cheap  make,  they  were  retained  without 
scruple,  by  any  who  might  find  them,  until  the  owner  called 
for  them,  if  he  cared  to  take  the  trouble. 

Myrtle  took  a  knife  from  her  pocket,  cut  down  a  long, 
slender  sapling,  and  coaxed  the  boat  to  the  side  of  the  bank. 
A  pair  of  old  oars  lay  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat ;  she  took 
one  of  these  and  paddled  it  into  a  little  cove,  where  it  could 
lie  hid  amon^  the  thick  alders.  Then  she  went  home  and 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  83 

busied  herself  about  various  little  matters  more  interesting 
to  her  than  to  us. 

She  was  never  more  amiable  and  gracious  than  on  this 
day.  But  she  looked  often  at  the  clock,  as  they  remem 
bered  afterwards,  and  studied  over  a  copy  of  the  Farmer's 
Almanac  which  was  lying  in  the  kitchen,  with  a  somewhat 
singular  interest.  The  days  were  nearly  at  their  longest, 
the  weather  was  mild,  the  night  promised  to  be  clear  and 
bright. 

The  household  was,  to  all  appearance,  asleep  at  the  usual 
early  hour.  When  all  seemed  quiet,  Myrtle  lighted  her 
lamp,  stood  before  her  mirror,  and  untied  the  string  that 
bound  her  long  and  beautiful  dark  hair,  which  fell  in  its 
abundance  over  her  shoulders  and  below  her  girdle* 

She  lifted  its  heavy  masses  with  one  hand,  and  severed 
it  with  a  strong  pair  of  scissors,  with  remorseless  exaction 
of  every  wandering  curl,  until  she  stood  so  changed  by  the 
lass  of  that  outward  glory  of  her  womanhood,  that  she  felt 
as  if  she  had  lost  heVself  and  found  a  brother  she  had  never 
seen  before. 

"  Good  by,  Myrtle  !  "  she  said,  and,  opening  her  window 
very  gently,  she  flung  the  shining  tresses  upon  the  running 
water,  and  watched  them  for  a  few  moments  as  they  floated 
down  the  stream.  Then  she  dressed  herself  in  the  charac 
ter  of  her  imaginary  brother,  took  up  the  carpet-bag  in 
which  she  had  placed  what  she  chose  to  carry  with  her, 
stole  softly  down  stairs,  and  let  herself  out  of  a  window  on 
the  lower  floor,  shutting  it  very  carefully  so  as  to  be  sure 
that  nobody  should  be  disturbed. 

She  glided  along,  looking  all  about  her,  fearing  she 
might  be  seen  by  some  curious  wanderer,  and  reached  the 
cove  where  the  boat  she  had  concealed  was  lying.  She 


84  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

got  into  it,  and,  taking  the  rude  oars,  pulled  herself  into 
the  middle  of  the  swollen  stream.  Her  heart  beat  so  that 
it  seemed  to  her  as  if  she  could  hear  it  between  the  strokes 
of  the  oar.  The  lights  were  not  all  out  in  the  village,  and 
she  trembled  lest  she  should  see  the  figure  of  some  watcher 
looking  from  the  windows  in  sight  of  which  she  would 
have  to  pass,  and  that  a  glimpse  of  this  boat  stealing  along 
at  so  late  an  hour  might  give  the  clew  to  the  secret  of  her 
disappearance,  with  which  the  whole  region  was  to  be  bus 
ied  in  the  course  of  the  next  day. 

Presently  she  came  abreast  of  The  Poplars.  The  house 
lay  so  still,  so  peaceful,  —  it  would  wake  to  such  dismay ! 
The  boat  slid  along  beneath  her  own  overhanging  chamber. 

"  No  song  to-morrow  from  the  Fire-hang-bird's  Nest !  " 
she  said.  So  she  floated  by  the  slumbering  village,  the 
flow  of  the  river  carrying  her  steadily  on,  and  the  careful 
strokes  of  the  oars  adding  swiftness  to  her.  flight. 

At  last  she  came  to  the  "  Broad  Meadows,"  and  knew 
that  she  was  alone,  and  felt  confident  that  she  had  got 
away  unseen.  There  was  nothing,  absolutely  nothing, 
to  point  out  which  way  she  had  gone.  Her  boat  came 
from  nobody  knew  where,  her  disguise  had  been  got  to 
gether  at  different  times  in  such  a  manner  as  to  lead  to 
no  suspicion,  and  not  a  human  being  ever  had  the  slightest 
hint  that  she  had  planned  and  meant  to  carry  out  the  en 
terprise  which  she  had  now  so  fortunately  begun. 

Not  till  the  last  straggling  house  had  been  long  past, 
not  till  the  meadows  were  stretched  out  behin^^er  as  well 
as  before  her,  spreading  far  off  into  the  distance  on  each 
side,  did  she  give  way  to  the  sense  of  wild  exultation 
which  was  coming  fast  over  her.  But  then,  at  last,  she 
drew  a  long,  long  breath,  and,  standing  up  in  the  boat, 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  85 

looked  all  around  her.  The  stars  were  shining  over  her 
head  and  deep  down  beneath  her.  The  cool  wind  came 
fresh  upon  her  cheek  over  the  long  grassy  reaches.  No 
living  thing  moved  in  all  the  wide  level  circle  which  lay 
about  her.  She  had  passed  the  Red  Sea,  and  was  alone 
in  the  Desert. 

She  threw  down  her  oars,  lifted  her  hands  like  a  priest 
ess,  and  her  strong,  sweet  voice  burst  into  song,  —  the 
song  of  the  Jewish  maiden  when  she  went  out  before  the 
chorus  of  women  and  sang  that  grand  solo,  which  we  all 
remember  in  its  ancient  words,  and  in  their  modern  para 
phrase,  — 

"  Sound  the  loud  timbrel  o'er  Egypt's  dark  sea ! 
Jehovah  hath  triumphed,  his  people  are  free  !  " 

The  poor  child's  repertory  was  limited  to  songs  of 
the  religious  sort  mainly,  but  there  was  a  choice  among 
these.  Her  aunt's  favorites,  beside  "  China,"  already 
mentioned,  were  "  Bangor,"  which  the  worthy  old  New 
England  clergyman  so  admired  that  he  actually  had 
the  down-east  city  called  after  it,  and  "  Windsor,"  and 
"  Funeral  Hymn."  But  Myrtle  was  in  no  mood  for  these. 
She  let  off  her  ecstasy  in  "  Ballerma,"  and  "  Arlington," 
and  "  Silver  Street,"  and  at  last  in  that  most  riotous  of 
devotional  hymns,  which  sounds  as  if  it  had  been  com 
posed  by  a  saint  who  had  a  cellar  under  his  chapel,  — 
"  Jordan."  So  she  let  her  wild  spirits  run  loose  ;  and  then 
a  tenderer  feeling  stole  over  her,  and  she  sang  herself  into 
a  more  tranquil  mood  with  the  gentle  music  of  "  Dundee." 
And  again  she  pulled  quietly  and  steadily  at  her  oars,  un 
til  she  reached  the  wooded  region  through  which  the  river 
winds  after  leaving  the  "  Broad  Meadows." 

The  tumult  in  her  blood  was  calmed,  yet  every  sense 


86  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

and  faculty  was  awake  to  the  manifold  delicious,  mysterious 
impressions  of  that  wonderful  June  night.  The  stars  were 
shining  between  the  tall  trees,  as  if  all  the  jewels  of  heaven 
had  been  set  in  one  belt  of  midnight  sky.  The  voices  of 
the  wind,  as  they  sighed  through  the  pines,  seemed  like 
the  breath  of  a  sleeping  child,  and  then,  as  they  lisped 
from  the  soft,  tender  leaves  of  beeches  and  maples,  like 
the  half-articulate  whisper  of  the  mother  hushing  all  the 
intrusive  sounds  that  might  awaken  it.  Then  came  the 
pulsating  monotone  of  the  frogs  from  a  far-off  pool,  the 
'harsh  cry  of  an  owl  from  an  old  tree  that  overhung  it,  the 
splash  of  a  mink  or  musquash,  and  nearer  by,  the  light 
step  of  a  woodchuck,  as  he  cantered  off  in  his  quiet  way  to 
his  hole  in  the  nearest  bank.  The  laurels  were  just  com 
ing  into  bloom,  —  the  yellow  lilies,  earlier  than  their  fairer 
sisters,  pushing  their  golden  cups  through  the  water,  not 
content,  like  those,  to  float  on  the  surface  of  the  stream 
that  fed  them,  —  emblems  of  showy  wealth,  and,  like  that, 
drawing  all  manner  of  insects  to  feed  upon  them.  The 
miniature  forests  of  ferns  came  down  to  the  edge  of  the 
stream,  their  tall,  bending  plumes  swaying  in  the  night 
breeze.  Sweet  odors  from  oozing  pines,  from  dewy  flow 
ers,  from  spicy  leaves,  stole  out  of  the  tangled  thickets, 
and  made  the  whole  scene  more  dream-like  with  their 
faint,  mingled  suggestions. 

By  and  by  the  banks  of  the  river  grew  lower  and 
marshy,  and  in  place  of  the  larger  forest-trees  which  had 
covered  them  stood  slender  tamaracks,  .sickly,  mossy, 
looking  as  if  they  had  been  moon-struck  and  were  out  of 
their  wits,  their  tufts  of  leaves  staring  off  every  way  from 
their  spindling  branches.  The  winds  came  cool  and  damp 
out  of  the  hiding-places  among  their  dark  recesses.  The 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  87 

country  people  about  here  called  this  region  the  "  Witches' 
Hollow,"  and  had  many  stories  about  the  strange  things 
that  happened  there.  The  Indians  used  to  hold  their 
"  powwows,"  or  magical  incantations,  upon  a  broad  mound 
which  rose  out  of  the  common  level,  and  where  some  old 
hemlocks  and  beeches  formed  a  dark  grove,  which  served 
them  as  a  temple  for  their  demon-worship.  There  were 
many  legends  of  more  recent  date  connected  with  this  spot, 
some  of  them  hard  to  account  for,  and  no  superstitious 
or  highly  imaginative  person  would  have  cared  to  pass 
through  it  alone  in  the  dead  of  the  night,  as  this  young 
girl  was  doing. 

She  knew  nothing  of  all  these  fables  and  fancies.  Her 
own  singular  experiences  in  this  enchanted  region  were 
certainly  not  suggested  by  anything  she  had  heard,  and 
may  be  considered  psychologically  curious  by  those  who 
would  not  think  of  attributing  any  mystical  meaning  to 
them.  We  are  at  liberty  to  report  many  things  without 
attempting  to  explain  them,  or  committing  ourselves  to 
anything  beyond  the  fact  that  so  they  were  told  us.  [The 
reader  will  find  Myrtle's  "  Vision,"  as  written  out  at  a  later 
period  from  her  recollections,  at  the  end  of  this  chapter.] 

The  night  was  passing,  and  she  meant  to  be  as  far  away 
as  possible  from  the  village  she  had  left,  before  morning. 
But  the  boat,  like  all  craft  on  country  rivers,  was  leaky, 
and  she  had  to  work  until  tired,  bailing  it  out,  before  she 
was  ready  for  another  long  effort.  The  old  tin  measure, 
which  was  all  she  had  to  bail  with,  leaked  as  badly  as  the 
boat,  and  her  task  was  a  tedious  one.  At  last  she  got  it  in 
good  trim,  and  sat  down  to  her  oars  with  the  determination 
to  pull  steadily  as  long  as  her  strength  would  hold  out. 

Hour  after  hour  she  kept  at  her  work,  sweeping  round 


88  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

-the  long  bends  where  the  river  was  hollowing  out  one 
bank  and  building  new  shore  on  the  opposite  one,  so  as 
gradually  to  shift  its  channel ;  by  clipper-shaped  islands, 
sharp  at  the  bows  looking  up  stream,  sharp  too  at  the 
stern,  looking  down,  —  their  shape  solving  the  navigator's 
problem  of  least  resistance,  as  a  certain  young  artist  had 
pointed  out ;  by  slumbering  villages ;  by  outlying  'farm 
houses  ;  between  cornfields  where  the  young  plants  were 
springing  up  in  little  thready  fountains  ;  in  the  midst  of 
stumps  where  the  forest  had  just  been  felled  ;  through 
patches  where  the  fire  of  the  last  great  autumnal  drought 
had  turned  all  the  green  beauty  of  the  woods  into  brown 
desolation ;  and  again  amidst  broad  expanses  of  open 
meadow  stretching  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  the 
uncertain  light.  A  faint  yellow  tinge  was  beginning  to 
stain  the  eastern  horizon.  Her  boat  was  floating  quietly 
along,  for  she  had  at  last  taken  in  her  oars,  and  she  was 
now  almost  tired  out  with  toil  and  excitement.  She  rested 
her  head  upon  her  hands,  and  felt  her  eyelids  closing  in 
spite  of  herself.  And  now  there  stole  upon  her  ear  a  low, 
gentle,  distant  murmur,  so  soft  that  it  seemed  almost  to 
mingle  with  the  sound  of  her  own  breathing,  but  so  steady, 
so  uniform,  that  it  soothed  her  to  sleep,  as  if  it  were  the 
old  cradle-song  the  ocean  used  to  sing  to  her,  or  the  lulla 
by  of  her  fair  young  mother. 

So  she  glided  along,  slowly,  slowly,  down  the  course  of 
the  winding  river,  and  the  flushing  dawn  kindled  around 
her  as  she  slumbered,  and  the  low,  gentle  murmur  grew 
louder  and  louder,  but  still  she  slept,  dreaming  of  the  mur- 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  89 

APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  VIII. 
MYRTLE  HAZARD'S  STATEMENT. 

"  A  Vision  seen  by  me,  Myrtle  Hazard,  aged  fifteen,  on 
the  night  of  June  15,  1859.  Written  out  at  the  re 
quest  of  a  friend  from  my  recollections. 

"  The  place  where  I  saw  these  sights  is  called,  as  I 
have  been  told  since,  Witches'  Hollow.  I  had  never  been 
there  before,  and  did  not  know  that  it  was  called  so,  or 
anything  about  it. 

"  The  first  strange  thing  that  I  noticed  was  on  coming 
near  a  kind  of  hill  or  mound  that  rose  out  of  the  low 
meadows.  I  saw  a  burning  cross  lying  on  the  slope  of 
that  mound.  It  burned  with  a  pale  greenish  light,  and  did 
not  waste,  though  I  watched  it  for  a  long  time,  as  the  boat 
I  was  in  moved  slowly  with  the  current  and  I  had  stopped 
rowing. 

"  I  know  that  my  eyes  were  open,  and  I  was  awake 
while  I  was  looking  at  this  cross.  I  think  my  eyes  were 
open  Avhen  I  saw  these  other  appearances,  but  I  felt  just 
as  if  I  were  dreaming  while  awake. 

"  I  heard  a  faint  rustling  sound,  and  on  looking  up  I 
saw  many  figures  moving  around  me,  and  I  seemed  to  see 
myself  among  them  as  if  I  were  outside  of  myself. 

"  The  figures  did  not  walk,  but  slid  or  glided  with  an 
even  movement,  as  if  without  any  effort.  They  made 
many  gestures,  and  seemed  to  speak,  but  I  cannot  tell 
whether  I  heard  what  they  said,  or  knew  its  meaning  in 
some  other  way. 

"  I  knew  the  faces  of  some  of  these  figures.  They 
were  the  same  I  have  seen  in  portraits,  as  long  as  I  can  re- 


90  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

member,  at  the  old  house  where  I  was  brought  up,  called 
The  Poplars.  I  saw  my  father  and  my  mother  as  they  look 
in  the  two  small  pictures  ;  also  my  grandmother,  and  her 
father  and  mother  and  grandfather,  and  one  other  person, 
who  lived  a  great  while  ago.  All  of  these  have  been  long 
dead,  and  the  longer  they  had  been  dead  the  less  like  sub 
stance  they  looked  and  the  more  like  shadows,  so  that  the 
oldest  was  like  one's  breath  of  a  frosty  morning,  but 
shaped  like  the  living  figure. 

"  There  was  no  motion  of  their  breasts,  and  their  lips 
seemed  to  be  moving  as  if  they  were  saying,  Breath ! 
Breath !  Breath  I  I  thought  they  wanted  to  breathe  the 
air  of  this  world  again  in  my  shape,  which  I  seemed  to  see 
as  it  were  empty  of  myself  and  of  these  other  selves,  like 
a  sponge  that  has  water  pressed  out  of  it. 

"  Presently  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  returned  to  myself, 
and  then  those  others  became  part  of  me  by  being  taken 
up,  one  by  one,  and  so  lost  in  my  own  life. 

"  My  father  and  mother  came  up,  hand  in  hand,  looking 
more  real  than  any  of  the  rest.  Their  figures  vanished, 
and  they  seemed  to  have  become  a  part  of  me  ;  for  I  felt 
all  at  once  the  longing  to  live  over  the  life  they  had  led,  on 
the  sea  and  in  strange  countries. 

"Another  figure  was  just  like  the  one  we  called  the 
Major,  who  was  a  very  strong,  hearty-looking  man,  and 
who  is  said  to  have  drank  hard  sometimes,  though  there 
is  nothing  about  it  on  his  tombstone,  which  I  used  to  read 
in  the  graveyard.  It  seemed  to  me  that  there  was  some 
thing  about  his  life  that  I  did  not  want  to  make  a  part  of 
mine,  but  that  there  was  some  right  he  had  in  me  through 
my  being  of  his  blood,  and  so  his  health  and  his  strength 
went  all  through  me,  and  I  was  always  to  have  what 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  91 

was  left  of  his  life  in  that  shadow-like  shape,  forming  a 
portion  of  mine. 

"  So  in  the  same  way  with  the  shape  answering  to  the 
portrait  of  that  famous  beauty  who  was  the  wife  of  my 
great-grandfather,  and  used  to  be  called  the  Pride  of  the 
County. 

"  And  so  too  with  another  figure  which  had  the  face  of 
that  portrait  marked  on  the  back,  Rath  Bradford,  who 
married  one  of  my  ancestors,  and  was  before  the  court,  as 
I  have  heard,  in  the  time  of  the  witchcraft  trials. 

"  There  was  with  the  rest  a  dark,  wild-looking  woman, 
with  a  head-dress  of  feathers.  She  kept  as  it  were  in 
shadow,  but  I  saw  something  of  my  own  features  in  her 
face. 

"  It  was  on  my  mind  very  strongly  that  the  shape  of 
that  woman  of  our  blood  who  was  burned  long  ago  by  the 
Papists  came  very  close  to  me,  and  was  in  some  way  made 
one  with  mine,  and  that  I  feel  her  presence  with  me  since, 
as  if  she  lived  again  in  me ;  but  not  always,  —  only  at 
times,  —  and  then  I  feel  borne  up  as  if  I  could  do  any 
thing  in  the  world.  I  had  a  feeling  as  if  she  were  my 
guardian  and  protector. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  these,  and  more,  whom  I  have  not 
mentioned,  do  really  live  over  some  part  of  their  past  lives 
in  my  life.  I  do  not  understand  it  all,  and  perhaps  it  can 
be  accounted  for  in  some  way  I  have  not  thought  of.  I 
write  it  down  as  nearly  as  I  can  give  it  from  memory,  by 
request,  and  if  it  is  printed  at  this  time  had  rather  have 

all  the  real  names  withheld. 

"  MYRTLE  HAZARD." 

NOTE  BY  THE  FRIEND. 
"  This  statement  must  be  accounted  for  in  some  way,  or 


92  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

pass  into  the  category  of  the  supernatural.  Probably  it 
was  one  of  those  intuitions,  with  objective  projection,  which 
sometimes  come  to  imaginative  young  persons,  especially 
girls,  in  certain  exalted  nervous  conditions.  The  study  of 
the  portraits,  with  the  knowledge  of  some  parts  of  the  his 
tory  of  the  persons  they  represented,  and  the  consciousness 
of  instincts  inherited  in  all  probability  from  these  same 
ancestors,  formed  the  basis  of  Myrtle's  *  Vision.'  The 
lives  of  our  progenitors  are,  as  we  know,  reproduced  in 
different  proportions  in  ourselves.  Whether  they  as  indi 
viduals  have  any  consciousness  of  it,  is  another  matter.  It 
is  possible  that  they  do  get  a  second  as  it  were  fractional 
life  in  us.  It  might  seem  that  many  of  those  whose  blood 
flows  in  our  veins  struggle  for  the  mastery,  and  by  and  by 
one  or  more  get  the  predominance,  so  that  we  grow  to  be 
like  father,  or  mother,  or  remoter  ancestor,  or  two  or  more 
are  blended  in  us,  not  to  the  exclusion,  however,  it  must 
be  understood,  of  a  special  personality  of  our  own,  about 
which  these  others  are  grouped.  Independently  of  any 
possible  scientific  value,  this  '  Vision '  serves  to  illustrate 
the  above-mentioned  fact  of  common  experience,  which  is 
not  sufficiently  weighed  by  most  moralists. 

"  How  much  it  may  be  granted  to  certain  young  persons 
to  see,  not  in  virtue  of  their  intellectual  gifts,  but  through 
those  direct  channels  which  worldly  wisdom  may  possibly 
close  to  the  luminous  influx,  each  reader  must  determine 
for  himself  by  his  own  standards  of  faith  and  evidence. 

"  One  statement  of  the  narrative  admits  of  a  simple 
natural  explanation,  which  does  not  allow  the  lovers  of  the 
marvellous  to  class  it  with  the  quasi  miraculous  appear 
ance  seen  by  Colonel  Gardiner,  and  given  in  full  by  Dr. 
Doddrid«re  in  his  Life  of  that  remarkable  Christian  soldier. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  93 

Decaying  wood  is  often  phosphorescent,  as  many  readers 
must  have  seen  for  themselves.  The  country  people  are 
familiar  with  the  sight  of  it  in  wild  timber-land,  and  have 
given  it  the  name  of  '  Fox-fire.'  Two  trunks  of  trees  in 
this  state,  lying  across  each  other,  will  account  for  the  fact 
observed,  and  vindicate  the  truth  of  the  young  girl's  story 
without  requiring  us  to  suppose  any  exceptional  occurrence 
outside  of  natural  laws." 


94  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MR.  CLEMENT   LINDSAY   RECEIVES   A   LETTER,  AND    BEGINS 
HIS    ANSWER. 

IT  was  already  morning  when  a  young  man  living  in 
the  town  of  Alderbank,  after  lying  awake  for  an  hour, 
thinking  the  unutterable  thoughts  that  nineteen  years  of 
life  bring  to  the  sleeping  and  waking  dreams  of  young 
people,  rose  from  his  bed,  and,  half  dressing  himself,  sat 
down  at  his  desk,  from  which  he  took  a  letter,  which  he 
opened  and  read.  It  was  written  in  a  delicate,  though 
hardly  formed  female  hand,  and  crossed  like  a  checker 
board,  as  is  usual  with  these  redundant  manuscripts.  The 
letter  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  OXBOW  VILLAGE,  June  13,  1859. 

"  MY  DEAREST  CLEMENT,  —  You  was  so  good  to  write 
me  such  a  sweet  little  bit  of  a  letter,  —  only,  dear,  you 
never  seem  to  be  in  quite  so  good  spirits  as  you  used  to  be. 
I  wish  your  Susie  was  with  you  to  cheer  you  up  ;  but  no, 
ghe  must  be  patient,  and  you  must  be  patient  too,  for  you 
are  so  ambitious  !  I  have  heard  you  say  so  many  times 
that  nobody  could  be  a  great  artist  without  passing  years 
and  years  at  work,  and  growing  pale  and  lean  with  thinking 
so  hard.  You  won't  grow  pale  and  lean,  I  hope  ;  for  I  do 
so  love  to  see  that  pretty  color  in  your  cheeks  you  have 
always  had  ever  since  I  have  known  you  ;  and  besides,  I  do 
not  believe  you  will  have  to  work  so  very  hard  to  do  some 
thing  great,  —  you  have  so  much  genius,  and  people  of 
genius  do  such  beautiful  things  with  so  little  trouble.  You 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  95 

remember  those  beautiful  lines  out  of  our  newspaper  I 
sent  you  ?  Well,  Mr.  Hopkins  told  me  he  wrote  those  lines 
in  one  evening  without  stopping !  I  wish  you  could  sec 
Mr.  Hopkins,  —  he  is  a  very  talented  person.  I  cut  out 
this  little  piece  about  him  from  the  paper  on  purpose  to  show 
you,  —  for  genius  loves  genius,  —  and  you  would  like  to 
hear  him  read  his  own  poetry,  —  he  reads  it  beautifully. 
Please  send  this  piece  from  the  paper  back,  as  I  want  to 
put  it  in  my  scrap-book,  under  his  autograph :  — 

44  '  Our  young  townsman,  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins,  has  proved  himself  worthy  of  the 
name  he  bears.  His  poetical  effusions  are  equally  creditable  to  his  head  and  his 
heart,  displaying  the  highest  order  of  genius  and  powers  of  imagination  and  fancy 
hardly  second  to  any  writer  of  the  age.  lie  is  destined  to  make  a  great  sensation 
in  the  world  of  letters.' 

"  Mrs.  Hopkins  is  the  same  good  soul  she  always  was. 
She  is  very  proud  of  her  son,  as  is  natural,  and  keeps  a 
copy  of  everything  he  writes.  I  believe  she  cries  over 
them  every  time  she  reads  them.  You  don't  know  how  I 
take  to  little  Sossy  arid  Minthy,  those  two  twins  I  have 
written  to  you  about  before.  Poor  little  creatures,  —  what 
a  cruel  thing  it  was  in  their  father  and  mother  not  to  take 
care  of  them  !  What  do  you  think  ?  Old  bachelor  Grid- 
ley  lets  them  come  up  into  his  room,  and  builds  forts  and 
castles  for  them  with  his  big  books  !  *  The  world  's  coming 
to  an  end,'  Mrs.  Hopkins  said  the  first  time  he  did  so.  He 
looks  so  savage  with  that  scowl  of  his,  and  talks  so  gruff 
when  he  is  scolding  at  things  in  general,  that  nobody 
would  have  believed  he  would  have  let  such  little  things 
come  anywhere  near  him.  But  he  seems  to  be  growing 
kind  to  all  of  us  and  everybody.  I  saw  him  talking  to  the 
Fire-hang-bird  the  other  day.  You  know  who  the  Fire- 
hang-bird  is,  don't  you  ?  Myrtle  Hazard  her  name  is.  I 
wish  you  could  see  her.  I  don't  know  as  I  do,  though. 
You  would  want  to  make  a  statue  of  her,  or  a  painting,  I 


96  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

know.  She  is  so  handsome  that  all  the  young  men  stand 
round  to  see  her  come  out  of  meeting.  Some  say  that 
Lawyer  Bradshaw  is  after  her ;  but  my !  he  is  ten  years 
older  than  she  is.  She  is  nothing  but  a  girl,  though  she 
looks  as  if  she  was  eighteen.  She  lives  up  at  a  place  called 
The  Poplars,  with  an  old  woman  that  is  her  aunt  or  some- 
tiling,  and  nobody  seems  to  be  much  acquainted  with  her 
except  Olive  Eveleth,  who  is  the  minister's  daughter  at 
Saint  Bartholomew's  Church.  She  never  has  beauxs 
round  her,  as  some  young  girls  do  —  they  say  that  she  is  not 
happy  with  her  aunt  and  another  woman  that  stays  with 
her,  and  that  is  the  reason  she  keeps  so  much  to  herself. 
The  minister  came  to  see  me  the  other  day,  —  Mr.  Stoker 
his  name  is.  I  was  all  alone,  and  it  frightened  me,  for  he 
looks,  O,  so  solemn  on  Sundays  !  But  he  called  me  *  My 
dear,'  and  did  n't  say  anything  horrid,  you  know,  about  my 
being  such  a  dreadful,  dreadful  sinner,  as  I  have  heard  of 
his  saying  to  some  people,  —  but  he  looked  very  kindly  at 
me,  and  took  my  hand,  and  laid  his  hand  on  my  shoulder  like 
a  brother,  and  hoped  I  would  come  and  see  him  in  his 
study.  I  suppose  I  must  go,  but  I  don't  want  to.  I  don't 
seem  to  like  him  exactly. 

"  I  hope  you  love  me  as  well  as  ever  you  did.  I  can't 
help  feeling  sometimes  as  if  you  was  growing  away  from 
me,  —  you  know  what  I  mean,  —  getting  to  be  too  great  a 
person  for  such  a  small  person  as  I  am.  I  know  I  can't  al 
ways  understand  you  when  you  talk  about  art,  and  that  you 
know  a  great  deal  too  much  for  such  a  simple  girl  as  I  am. 
O,  if  I  thought  I  could  never  make  you  happy  !  .  .  .  . 
There,  now  !  I  am  almost  ashamed  to  send  this  paper  so 
spotted.  —  Gifted  Hopkins  wrote  some  beautiful  verses  one 
day  on  '  A  Maiden  Weeping.'  He  compared  the  tears  fail- 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  97 

ing  from  her  eyes  to  the  drops  of  dew  which  one  often  sees 
upon  the  flowers  in  the  morning.    Is  n't  it  a  pretty  thought  ? 

"  I  wish  I  loved  art  as  well  as  I  do  poetry  ;  but  I  am 
afraid  I  have  not  so  much  taste  as  some  girls  have.  You 
remember  how  I  liked  that  picture  in  the  illustrated  maga 
zine,  and  you  said  it  was  horrid.  I  have  been  afraid  since 
to  like  almost  anything,  for  fear  you  should  tell  me  some 
time  or  other  it  was  horrid.  Don't  you  think  I  shall  ever 
learn  to  know  what  is  nice  from  what  is  n't  ? 

"  O,  dear  Clement,  I  wish  you  would  do  one  thing  to 
please  me.  Don't  say  no,  for  you  can  do  everything  you 
try  to,  —  I  am  sure  you  can.  I  want  you  to  write  me 
some  poetry, — just  three  or  four  little  verses  To  SUSIE. 
O,  I  should  feel  so  proud  to  have  some  lines  written  all  on 
purpose  for  me.  Mr  Hopkins  wrote  some  the  other  day, 

and  printed  them  in  the  paper,  '  To  M e.'     I  believe 

he  meant  them  for  Myrtle,  —  the  first  and  last  letter  of 
her  name,  you  see,  '  M  '  and  '  e.' 

"  Your  letter  was  a  dear  one,  only  so  short !  I  wish  you 
would  tell  me  all  about  what  you  are  doing  at  Alderbarik. 
Have  you  made  that  model  of  Innocence  that  is  to  have 
my  forehead,  and  hair  parted  like  mine  !  Make  it  pretty, 
do,  that  is  a  darling. 

"  Now  don't  make  a  face  at  my  letter.  It  is  n't  a  very 
good  one,  I  know  ;  but  your  poor  little  Susie  does  the  best 
she  can,  and  she  loves  you  so  much  ! 

"  Now  do  be  nice  and  write  me  one  little  bit  of  a  mite  of 
a  poem,  —  it  will  make  me  just  as  happy ! 

"  I  am  very  well,  and  as  happy  as  I  can  be  when  you  are 
away. 

"  Your  affectionate  SUSIE." 

(Directed  to  Mr.  Clement  Lindsay,  Alderbank.) 

5  G 


98  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

The  envelope  of  this  letter  was  unbroken,  as  was  before 
said,  when  the  young  man  took  it  from  his  desk.  He  did 
not  tear  it  with  the  hot  impatience  of  some  lovers,  but  cut 
it  open  neatly,  slowly,  one  would  say  sadly.  He  read  it 
with  an  air  of  singular  effort,  and  yet  with  a  certain  tender 
ness.  When  he  had  finished  it,  the  drops  were  thick  on 
his  forehead  ;  he  groaned  and  put  his  hands  to  his  face, 
which  was  burning  red. 

This  was  what  the  impulse  of  boyhood,  years  ago,  had 
brought  him  to  !  He  was  a  stately  youth,  of  noble  bear^ig, 
of  high  purpose,  of  fastidious  taste ;  and,  if  his  broad  fore 
head,  his  clear,  large  blue  eyes,  his  commanding  features, 
his  lips,  firm,  yet  plastic  to  every  change  of  thought  and 
feeling,  were  not  an  empty  mask,  might  not  improba 
bly  claim  that  Promethean  quality  of  which  the  girl's 
letter  had  spoken,  —  the  strange,  divine,  dread  gift  of 
genius. 

This  poor,  simple,  innocent,  trusting  creature,  so  utterly 
incapable  of  coming  into  any  true  relation  with  his  aspiring 
mind,  his  large  and  strong  emotions,  —  this  mere  child,  all 
simplicity  and  goodness,  but  trivial  and  shallow  as  the  little 
babbling  brooklet  that  ran  by  his  window  to  the  river,  to 
lose  its  insignificant  being  in  the  swift  torrent  he  heard 
rushing  over  the  rocks,  —  this  pretty  idol  for  a  weak  and 
kindly  and  easily  satisfied  worshipper,  was  to  be  enthroned 
as  the  queen  of  his  affections,  to  be  adopted  as  the  compan 
ion  of  his  labors  !  The  boy,  led  by  the  commonest  instinct, 
the  mere  attraction  of  biped  to  its  female,  which  accident 
had  favored,  had  thrown  away  the  dearest  possession  of 
manhood,  —  liberty,  —  and  this  bawble  was  to  be  his  life 
long  reward  !  And  yet  not  a  bawble  either,  for  a  plensing 
person  and  a  gentle  and  sweet  nature,  which  had  once 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  99 

made  her  seem  to  him  the  very  paragon  of  loveliness, 
were  still  hers.  Alas  !  her  simple  words  were  true,  — 
he  had  grown  away  from  her.  Her  only  fault  was  that 
she  had  not  grown  with  him,  and  surely  he  could  not  re 
proach  her  with  that. 

"  No,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  I  will  never  leave  her  so 
long  as  her  heart  clings  to  me.  I  have  been  rash,  but  she 
shall  not  pay  the  forfeit.  And  if  I  may  think  of  myself, 
my  life  need  not  be  wretched  because  she  cannot  share  all 
my  being  with  me.  The  common  human  qualities  are 
more  than  all  exceptional  gifts.  She  has  a  woman's 
heart ;  and  what  talent  of  mine  is  to  be  named  by  the 
love  a  true  woman  can  offer  in  exchange  for  these  divided 
and  cold  affections?  If  it  had  pleased  God  to  mate  me 
with  one  more  equal  in  other  ways,  who  could  share  my 
thoughts,  who  could  kindle  my  inspiration,  who  had  wings 
to  rise  into  the  air  with  me  as  well  as  feet  to  creep  by  my 
side  upon  the  earth,  —  what  cannot  such  a  woman  do  for  a 
man  ! 

"  What !  cast  away  the  flower  I  took  in  the  bud  because 
it  does  not  show  as  I  hoped  it  would  when  it  opened  ?  I  will 
stand  by  my  word ;  I  will  be  all  as  a  man  that  I  promised 
as  a  boy.  Thank  God,  she  is  true  and  pure  and  sweet. 
My  nest  will  be  a  peaceful  one  ;  but  I  must  take  wing 
alone,  —  alone." 

He  drew  one  long  sigh,  and  the  cloud  passed  from  his 
countenance.  He  must  answer  that  letter  now,  —  at  once. 
There  were  reasons,  he  thought,  which  made  it  important. 
And  so,  with  the  cheerfulness  \yhich  it  was  kind  and  be 
coming  to  show,  so  far  as  possible,  and  yet  with  a  little 
excitement  on  one  particular  point,  which  was  the  cause 
of  his  writing  so  promptly,  he  began  his  answer. 


100  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

ALDERBANK,  Thursday  morning,  June  16,  1859. 

"  MY  DEAR  SUSIE,  —  I  have  just  been  reading  your 
pleasant  letter  ;  and  if  I  do  not  send  you  the  poem  you 
ask  for  so  eloquently,  I  will  give  you  a  little  bit  of  advice, 
\vhich  will  do  just  as  well,  —  won't  it,  my  dear  ?  I  was 
interested  in  your  account  of  various  things  going  on  at 
Oxbow  Village.  I  am  very  glad  you  find  young  Mr.  Hop 
kins  so  agreeable  a  friend.  His  poetry  is  better  than  some 
which  I  see  printed  in  the  village  papers,  and  seems  gener 
ally  unexceptionable  in  its  subjects  and  tone.  I  do  not  be 
lieve  he  is  a  dangerous  companion,  though  the  habitof  writing 
verse  does  not  always  improve  the  character.  I  think  I  have 
seen  it  make  more  than  one  of  my  acquaintances  idle,  con 
ceited,  sentimental,  and  frivolous,  —  perhaps  it  found  them 
so  already.  Don't  make  too  much  of  his  talent,  and  particu 
larly  don't  let  him  think  that  because  he  can  write  verses 
he  has  nothing  else  to  do  in  this  world.  That  is  for  his 
benefit,  dear,  and  you  must  skilfully  apply  it. 

"  Now  about  yourself.  My  dear  Susie,  there  was  some 
thing  in  your  letter  that  did  not  please  me.  You  speak  of 
a  visit  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker,  and  of  his  kind,  brotherly 
treatment,  his  cordiality  of  behavior,  and  his  asking  you  to 
visit  him  in  his  study.  I  ain  very  glad  to  hear  you  say 
that  you  '  don't  seem  to  like  him.'  He  is  very  familiar, 
it  seems  to  me,  for  so  new  an  acquaintance.  What  busi 
ness  had  he  to  be  laying  his  hand  on  your  shoulder  ?  I 
should  like  to  see  him  try  these  free-and-easy  ways  in  my 
presence  !  He  would  not  have  taken  that  liberty,  my 
dear  !  No,  he  was  alone  with  you,  and  thought  it  safe 
to  be  disrespectfully  familiar.  I  want  you  to  maintain 
your  dignity  always  with  such  persons,  and  I  beg  you 
not  to  go  to  the  study  of  this  clergyman,  unless  some  older 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANkfcL.  101 


friend  goes  with  you  on  every  occasion,  and  sits  through 
the  visit.  I  must  speak  plainly  to  you,  my  dear,  as  I  have 
a  right  to.  If  the  minister  has  anything  of  importance  to 
say,  let  it  come  through  the  lips  of  some  mature  person. 
It  may  lose  something  of  the  fervor  with  which  it  would 
have  been  delivered  at  first  hand,  but  the  great  rules  of 
Christian  life  are  not  so  dependent  on  the  particular  indi 
vidual  who  speaks  them,  that  you  must  go  to  this  or  that 
young  man  to  find  out  what  they  are.  If  to  any  man,  I 
should  prefer  the  old  gentleman  whom  you  have  mentioned 
in  your  letters,  Father  Pemberton.  You  understand  me, 
my  dear  girl,  and  the  subject  is  not  grateful.  You  know 
how  truly  I  am  interested  in  all  that  relates  to  you,  — 
that  I  regard  you  with  an  affection  which  —  " 

HELP  !  HELP  !  HELP  ! 

A  cry  as  of  a  young  person's  voice  was  heard  faintly, 
coming  from  the  direction  of  the  river.  Something  in  the 
tone  of  it  struck  to  his  heart,  an.d  he  sprang  as  if  he  had 
been  stabbed.  He  flung  open  his  chamber  window  and 
leaped  from  it  to  the  ground.  He  ran  straight  to  the  bank 
of  the  river  by  the  side  of  which  the  village  of  Alderbank 
was  built,  a  little  farther  down  the  stream  than  the  house  in 
which  he  was  living. 

Everybody  that  travels  in  that  region  knows  the  beau 
tiful  falls  which  break  the  course  of  the  river  just  above 
the  village  ;  narrow  and  swift,  and  surrounded  by  rocks 
of  such  picturesque  forms  that  they  are  sought  and  admired 
by  tourists.  The  stream  was  now  swollen,  and  rushed  in 
a  deep  and  rapid  current  over  the  ledges,  through  the 
rocky  straits,  plunging  at  last  in  tumult  and  foam,  with 
loud,  continuous  roar,  into  the  depths  below  the  cliff  from 
which  it  tumbled. 


102  •   Tltti  .GtJAKDlAN  ANGEL. 

A  short  distance  above  the  fall  there  projected  from  the 
water  a  rock  which  had,  by  parsimonious  saving  during  a 
long  course  of  years,  hoarded  a  little  soil,  out  of  which  a 
small  tuft  of  bushes  struggled  to  support  a  decent  vegetable 
existence.  The  high  waters  had  nearly  submerged  it, 
but  a  few  slender  twigs  were  seen  above  their  surface. 

A  skiff  was  lying  close  to  this  rock,  between  it  and  the 
brink  of  the  fall,  which  was  but  a  few  rods  farther  down. 
In  the  skiff  was  a  youth  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  hold 
ing  by  the  slender  twigs,  the  boat  dragging  at  them  all  the 
time,  and  threatening  to  tear  them  away  and  go  over  the 
fall.  It  was  not  likely  that  the  boy  would  come  to  shore 
alive  if  it  did.  There  were  stories,  it  is  true,  that  the 
Indians  used  to  shoot  the  fall  in  their  canoes  with  safety  ; 
but  everybody  knew  that  at  least  three  persons  had  been 
lost  by  going  over  it  since  the  town  was  settled  ;  and  more 
than  one  dead  body  had  been  found  floating  far  down  the 
river,  with  bruises  and  fractured  bones,  as  if  it  had  taken 
the  same  fatal  plunge.  . 

There  was  no  time  to  lose.  Clement  ran  a  little  way 
up  the  river-bank,  flung  off  his  shoes,  and  sprang  from  the 
bank  as  far  as  he  could  leap  into  the  water.  The  current 
swept  him  toward  the  fall,  but  he  worked  nearer  and 
nearer  the  middle  of  the  stream.  He  was  making  for  the 
rock,  thinking  he  could  plant  his  feet  upon  it  and  at  the 
worst  hold  the  boat  until  he  could  summon  other  help  by 
shouting.  He  had  barely  got  his  feet  upon  the  rock,  when 
the  twigs  by  which  the  boy  was  holding  gave  way.  He 
seized  the  boat,  but  it  dragged  him  from  his  uncertain  foot 
ing,  and  with  a  desperate  effort  he  clambered  over  its  side, 
and  found  himself  its  second  doomed  passenger. 

There  was  but  an  instant  for  thought. 


THE  GUAEDIAN  ANGEL.  103 

"  Sit  still,"  lie  said,  "  and,  just  as  we  go  over,  put  your 
arms  round  me  under  mine,  and  don't  let  go  for  your 
life  !  " 

He  caught  up  the  single  oar,  and  with  a  few  sharp  pad 
dle-strokes  brought  the  skiff  into  the  blackest  centre  of  the 
current,  where  it  was  deepest,  and  would  plunge  them  into 
the  deepest  pool. 

"  Hold  your  breath  !     God  save  us !     Now ! " 

They  rose,  as  if  with  one  will,  and  stood  for  an  instant, 
the  arms  of  the  younger  closely  embracing  the  other  as  he 
had  directed. 

A  sliding  awray  from  beneath  them  of  the  floor  on  which 
they  stood,  as  the  drop  fails  ander  the  feet  of  a  felon.  A 
great  rush  of  air,  and  a  mighty,  awful,  stunning  roar,  —  an 
involuntary  gasp,  a  choking  flood  of  water  that  came  bel 
lowing  after  them,  and  hammered  them  down  into  the 
black  depths  so  far  that  the  young  man,  though  used  to  div 
ing  and  swimming  long  distances  under  water,  had  well- 
nigh  yielded  to  the  fearful  need  of  air,  and  sucked  in  his 
death  in  so  doing. 

The  boat  came  up  to  the  surface,  broken  in  twain,  splin 
tered,  a  load  of  firewood  for  those  who  raked  the  river 
lower  down.  It  had  turned  crosswise,  and  struck  the  rocks. 
A  cap  rose  to  the  surface,  such  a  one  as  boys  wear,  —  the 
same  that  boy  had  on.  And  then  —  after  how  many 
seconds  by  the  watch  cannot  be  known,  but  after  a  time 
long  enough,  as  the  young  man  remembered  it,  to  live  his 
whole  life  over  in  memory  —  Clement  Lindsay  felt  the 
blessed  air  against  his  face,  and,  taking  a  great  breath,  came 
to  his  full  consciousness.  The  arms  of  the  boy  were  still 
locked  around  him  as  in  the  embrace  of  death.  A  few 
strokes  brought  him  to  the  shore,  dragging  his  senseless 
burden  with  him. 


104  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

He  unclasped  the  arms  that  held  him  so  closely  encircled, 
and  laid  the  slender  form  of  the  youth  he  had  almost  died 
to  save  gently  upon  the  grass.  It  was  as  if  dead.  lie 
loosed  the  ribbon  that  was  round  the  neck,  he  tore  open 
the  checked  shirt  — 

The  story  of  Myrtle  Hazard's  sex  was  told ;  but  she  was 
deaf  to  his  cry  of  surprise,  and  no  blush  came  to  her  cold 
cheek.  Not  too  late,  perhaps,  to  save  her,  —  not  too  late 
to  try  to  save  her,  at  least ! 

He  placed  his  lips  to  hers,  and  filled  her  breast  with  the 
air  from  his  own  panting  chest.  Again  and  again  he  re 
newed  these  efforts,  hoping,  doubting,  despairing,  —  once 
more  hoping,  and  at  last,  wh«n  he  had  almost  ceased  to 
hope,  she  gasped,  she  breathed,  she  moaned,  and  rolled  her 
eyes  wildly  round  her,  —  she  was  born  again  into  this 
mortal  life. 

He  caught  her  up  in  his  arms,  bore  her  to  the  house, 
laid  her  on  a  sofa,  and,  having  spent  his  strength  in  this 
last  effort,  reeled  and  fell,  and  lay  as  one  over  whom  have 
just  been  whispered  the  words,  "  He  is  gone." 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  105 


CHAPTER    X. 

MR.    CLEMENT    LINDSAY    FINISHES     HIS     LETTER. WHAT 

CAME    OF    IT. 

THE  first  thing  Clement  Lindsay  did,  when  he  was 
fairly  himself  again,  was  to  finish  his  letter  to  Susan 
Posey.  He  took  it  up  where  it  left  off,  "  with  an  affection 

which  " and  drew  a  long  dash,  as  above.  It  was  with 

great  effort  he  wrote  the  lines  which  follow,  for  he  had  got 
an  ugly  blow  on  the  forehead,  and  his  eyes  were  "  in 
mourning,"  as  the  gentlemen  of  the  ring  say,  with  unbe 
coming  levity. 

"  An  adventure  !  Just  as  I  was  writing  these  last  words, 
I  heard  the  cry  of  a  young  person,  as  it  sounded,  for  help. 
I  ran  to  the  river  and  jumped  in,  and  had  the  pleasure  of 
saving  a  life.  I  got  some  bruises  which  have  laid  me  up 
for  a  day  or  two  ;  but  I  am  getting  over  them  very  well 
now,  and  you  need  not  worry  about  me  at  all.  I  will 
write  again  soon ;  so  pray  do  not  fret  yourself,  for  I  have 
had  no  hurt  that  will  trouble  me  for  any  time." 

Of  course,  poor  Susan  Posey  burst  out  crying,  and  cried 
as  if  her  heart  would  break.  O  dear!  O  dear!  what 
should  she  do  !  He  was  almost  killed,  she  knew  he  was, 
or  he  had  broken  some  of  his  bones.  O  dear  !  O  dear  ! 
She  would  go  and  see  him,  there  !  —  she  must  and  would. 
He  would  die,  she  knew  he  would,  —  and  so  on. 

It  was  a  singular  testimony  to  the  evident  presence  of  a 
human  element  in  Mr.  Byles  Gridley  that  the  poor  girl, 
in  her  extreme  trouble,  should  think  of  him  as  a  counsel- 

5* 


106  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

lor.  But  the  wonderful  relenting  kind  of  look  on  his  grave 
features  as  he  watched  the  little  twins  tumbling  about  his 
great  books,  and  certain  marks  of  real  sympathy  he  had 
sometimes  shown  for  her  in  her  lesser  woes,  encouraged 
her,  and  she  went  straight  to  his  study,  letter  in  hand. .  She 
gave  a  timid  knock  at  the  door  of  that  awful  sanctuary. 

"  Come  in,  Susan  Posey,"  was  its  answer,  in  a  pleasant 
tone.  The  old  master  knew  her  light  step  and  the  maid 
enly  touch  of  her  small  hand  on  the  panel. 

What  a  sight !  There  were  Sossy  and  Minthy  in 
trenched  in  a  Sebastopol  which  must  have  cost  a  good 
half-hour's  engineering,  and  the  terrible  Byles  Gridley 
besie'nn"1  the  fortress  with  hostile  manifestations  of  the 

O        O 

most  singular  character.  He  was  actually  discharging  a 
large  sugar-plum  at  the  postern  gate,  which  having  been 
left  unclosed,  the  missile  would  certainly  have  reached  one 
of  the  garrison,  when  he  paused  as  the  door  opened,  and 
the  great  round  spectacles  and  four  wide,  staring  infants' 
eyes  were  levelled  at  Miss  Susan  Posey. 

She  almost  forgot  her  errand,  grave  as  it  was,  in  aston 
ishment  at  this  manifestation.  The  old  man  had  emptied 
his  shelves  of  half  their  folios  to  build  up  the  fort,  in  the 
midst  of  which  he  had  seated  the  two  delighted  and  up 
roarious  babes.  There  was  his  Cave's  "  Historia  Liter- 
aria,"  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  "  History  of  the  World," 
and  a  whole  array  of  Christian  Fathers,  and  Plato,  and 
Aristotle,  and  Stanley's  book  of  Philosophers,  with  Effi 
gies,  and  the  Junta  Galen,  and  the  Hippocrates  of  Foesius, 
and  Walton's  Polyglot,  supported  by  Father  Sanchez  on 
one  side  and  Fox's  "  Acts  and  Monuments  "  on  the  other, 
—  an  odd  collection,  as  folios  from  lower  shelves  are  apt 
to  be. 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  107 

The  besieger  discharged  his  sugar-plum,  which  was  so 
well  aimed  that  it  fell  directly  into  the  lap  of  Minthy,  who 
acted  with  it  as  if  the  garrison  had  been  on  short  rations 
for  some  time. 

He  saw  at  once,  on  looking  up,  that  there  was  trouble. 
"  What  now,  Susan  Posey,  my  dear  ?  " 

"  O  Mr.  Gridley,  I  am  in  such  trouble !  What  shall  I 
do?  What  shall  I  do  ?" 

She  turned  back  the  name  and  the  bottom  of  the  letter 
in  such  a  way  that  Mr.  Gridley  could  read  nothing  but 
the  few  lines  relating  the  "  adventure." 

"  So  Mr.  Clement  Lindsay  has  been  saving  a  life,  has 
he,  and  got  some  hard  knocks  doing  it,  hey,  Susan  Posey? 
Well,  well,  Clement  Lindsay  is  a  brave  fellow,  and  there 
is  no  need  of  hiding  his  name,  my  child.  Let  me  take  the 
letter  again  a  moment,  Susan  Posey.  What  is  the  date 
of  it  ?  June  1 6th.  Yes,  —  yes,  —  yes  !  " 

He  read  the  paragraph  over  again,  and  the  signature 
too,  if  he  wanted  to ;  for  poor  Susan  had  found  that  her 
secret  was  hardly  opaque  to  those  round  spectacles  and 
the  eyes  behind  them,  and,  with  a  not  unbecoming  blush, 
opened  the  fold  of  the  letter  before  she  handed  it  back. 

"  No,  no,  Susan  Posey.  He  will  come  all  right.  His 
writing  is  steady,  and  if  he  had  broken  any  bones  he 
would  have  mentioned  it.  It's  a  thing  his  wife  will  be 
proud  of,  if  he  is  ever  married,  Susan  Posey,"  (blushes,) 
"  and  his  children  too,"  (more  blushes  running  up  to  her 
back  hair,)  "  and  there 's  nothing  to  be  worried  about. 
But  I  '11  tell  you  what  my  dear,  I  've  got  a  little  business 
that  calls  me  down  the  river  to-morrow,  and  I  should  n't 
mind  stopping  an  hour  at  Alderbank  and  seeing  how  our 
young  friend  Clement  Lindsay  is ;  and  then,  if  he  was 


108  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

going  to  have  a  long  time  of  it,  why  we  could  manage  it 
somehow  that  any  friend  who  had  any  special  interest  in 
him  could  visit  him,  just  to  while  away  the  tiresomeness 
of  being  sick.  That  's  it,  exactly.  I  '11  stop  at  Alder- 
bank,  Susan  Posey.  Just  clear  up  these  two  children  for 
me,  will  you,  my.  dear  ?  Isosceles,  come  now,  —  that 's  a 
good  child.  Helminthia,  carry  these  sugar-plums  down 
stairs  for  me,  and  take  good  care  of  them,  mind  !  " 

It  was  a  case  of  gross  bribery  and  corruption,  for  the 
fortress  was  immediately  evacuated  on  the  receipt  of  a 
large  paper  of  red  and  white  comfits,  and  the  garrison 
marched  down  stairs  much  like  conquerors,  under  the 
lead  of  the  young  lady,  who  was  greatly  eased  in  mind  by 
the  kind  words  and  the  promise  of  Mr.  Byles  Gridley. 

But  he,  in  the  mean  time,  was  busy  with  thoughts  she 
did  not  suspect.  " A  young  person"  he  said  to  himself, 
—  "  why  a  young  person  ?  Why  not  say  a  boy,  if  it  was 
a  boy  ?  What  if  this  should  be  our  handsome  truant  ?  — 
t  June  IGth,  Thursday  morning  !  '  —  About  time  to  get  to 
Alderbank  by  the  river,  I  should  think.  None  of  the 
boats  missing  ?  What  then  ?  She  may  have  made  a  raft, 
or  picked  up  some  stray  skiff.  Who  knows  ?  And  then 
got  shipwrecked,  very  likely.  There  are  rapids  and  falls 
farther  along  the  river.  It  will  do  no  harm  to  go  down 
there  and  look  about,  at  any  rate." 

On  Saturday  morning,  therefore,  Mr.  Byles  Gridley  set 
forth  to  procure  a  conveyance  to  make  a  visit,  as  he  said, 
down  the  river,  and  perhaps  be  gone  a  day  or  two.  He 
went  to  a  stable  in  the  village,  and  asked  if  they  could  let 
him  have  a  horse. 

The  man  looked  at  him  with  that  air  of  native  superi 
ority  which  the  companionship  of  the  generous  steed  con- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  109 

fers  on  all  his  associates,  down  to  the  lightest  weight 
among  the  jockeys. 

"  Wai,  I  hain't  got  nothin'  in  the  shape  of  a  hoss,  Mr. 
Gridley.  I  've  got  a  mare  I  s'pose  I  could  let  y'  have." 

"  0,  very  well,"  said  the  old  master,  with  a  twinkle  in 
his  eye  as  sly  as  the  other's  wink,  —  he  had  parried  a  few 
jokes  in  his  time,  —  "  they  charge  half-price  for  mares  al 
ways,  I  believe." 

That  was  a  new  view  of  the  subject.  It  rather  took 
the  wind  out  of  the  stable-keeper,  and  set  a  most  ammoni- 
acal  fellow,  who  stood  playing  with  a  currycomb,  grinning 
at  his  expense.  But  he  rallied  presently. 

"  Wai,  I  b'lieve  they  do  for  some  mares,  when  they  let 
'em  to  some  folks ;  but  this  here  ain't  one  o'  them  mares, 
and  you  ain't  one  o'  them  folks.  All  my  cattle  's  out  but 
thi$  critter,  'n'  I  don't  jestly  want  to  have  nobody  drive 
her  that  ain't  pretty  car'ful,  —  she  's  faast,  I  tell  ye,  — 
don't  want  no  whip.  —  How  fur  d'd  y'  want  t'  go  ?  " 

Mr.  Gridley  was  quite  serious  now,  and  let  the  man 
know  that  he  wanted  the  mare  and  a  light  covered  wagon, 
at  once,  to  be  gone  for  one  or  two  days,  and  would  waive 
the  question  of  sex  in  the  matter  of  payment. 

Alderbank  was  about  twenty  miles  down  the  river  by 
the  road.  On  arriving  there,  he  inquired  for  the  house 
where  a  Mr.  Lindsay  lived.  There  was  only  one  Lind 
say  family  in  town,  —  he  must  mean  Dr.  William  Lind 
say.  His  house  was  up  there  a  little  way  above  the  vil 
lage,  lying  a  few  rods  back  from  the  river. 

He  found  the  house  without  difficulty,  and  knocked  at 
the  door.  A  motherly-looking  woman  opened  it  immedi 
ately,  and  held  her  hand  up  as  if  to  ask  him  to  speak  and 
move  softly. 


110  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  Does  Mr.  Clement  Lindsay  live  here  ?  " 

"  He  is  staying  here  for  the  present.  He  is  a  nephew 
of  ours.  He  is  in  his  bed  from  an  injury." 

"  Nothing  very  serious,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  A  bruise  on  his  head,  —  not  very  bad,  but  the  doctor 
was  afraid  of  erysipelas.  Seems  to  be  doing  well  enough 
now." 

"  Is  there  a  young  person  here,  a  stranger  ?  " 

"  There  is  such  a  young  person  here.  Do  you  come 
with  any  authority  to  make  inquiries  ?  " 

"I  do.  A  young  friend  of  mine  is  missing,  and  I 
thought  it  possible  I  might  learn  something  here  about  it. 
Can  I  see  this  young  person  ?  " 

The  matron  came  nearer  to  Byles  Gridley,  and  said : 
"  This  person  is  a  young  woman  disguised  as  a  boy.  She 
was  rescued  by  my  nephew  at  the  risk  of  his  life,  and  she 
has  been  delirious  ever  since  she  has  recovered  her  con 
sciousness.  She  was  almost  too  far  gone  to  be  resuscitated, 
but  Clement  put  his  mouth  to  hers  and  kept  her  breathing 
until  her  own  breath  returned  and  she  gradually  came  to." 

ft  Is  she  violent  in  her  delirium  ?  " 

"  Not  now.  No ;  she  is  quiet  enough,  but  wandering, 
—  wants  to  know  where  she  is,  and  whose  the  strange 
faces  are,  —  mine  and  my  husband's,  —  that 's  Dr.  Lind 
say,  —  and  one  of  my  daughters,  who  has  watched  with 
her." 

"  If  that  is  so,  I  think  I  had  better  see  her.  If  she  is 
the  person  I  suspect  her  to  be,  she  will  know  me ;  and  a 
familiar  face  may  bring  back  her  recollections  and  put  a 
stop  to  her  wanderings.  If  she  does  not  know  me,  I  will 
not  stay  talking  with  her.  I  think  she  will,  if  she  is  the 
one  I  am  seeking  after.  There  is  no  harm  in  trying." 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  Ill 

Mrs.  Lindsay  took  a  good  long  look  at  the  old  man. 
There  was  no  mistaking  his  grave,  honest,  sturdy,  wrin 
kled,  scholarly  face.  His  voice  was  assured  and  sincere  in 
its  tones.  His  decent  black  coat  was  just  what  a  scholar's 
should  be, — old,  not  untidy,  a  little  shiny  at  the  elbows 
with  much  leaning  on  his  study-table,  but  neatly  bound  at 
the  cuffs,  where  worthy  Mrs.  Hopkins  had  detected  signs 
of  fatigue  and  come  to  the  rescue.  His  very  hat  looked 
honest  as  it  lay  on  the  table.  It  had  moulded  itself  to  a 
broad,  noble  head,  that  held  nothing  but  what  was  true 
and  fair,  with  a  few  harmless  crotchets  just  to  fill  in  with, 
and  it  seemed  to  know  it. 

The  good  woman  gave  him  her  confidence  at  once.  "  Is 
the  person  you  are  seeking  a  niece  or  other  relative  of 
yours  ?  " 

(Why  did  not  she  ask  if  the  girl  was  his  daughter? 
What  is  that  look  of  paternity  and  of  maternity  which  ob 
serving  and  experienced  mothers  and  old  nurses  know  so 
well  in  men  and  in  women  ?) 

"  No,  she  is  not  a  relative.  But  I  am  acting  for  those 
who  are." 

"  Wait  a  moment  and  I  will  go  and  see  that  the  room  is 
all  right." 

She  returned  presently.  "  Follow  me  softly,  if  you 
please.  She  is  asleep,  —  so  beautiful,  —  so  innocent !  " 

Byles  Gridley,  Master  of  Arts,  retired  professor,  more 
than  sixty  years  old,  childless,  loveless,  stranded  in  a  lone 
ly  study  strewed  with  wrecks  of  the  world's  thought,  his 
work  in  life  finished,  his  one  literary  venture  gone  down 
with  all  it  held,  with  nobody  to  care  for  him  but  accidental 
acquaintances,  moved  gently  to  the  side  of  the  bed  and 
looked  upon  the  pallid,  still  features  of  Myrtle  Hazard. 


112  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

He  strove  hard  against  a  strange  feeling  that  was  taking 
hold  of  him,  that  was  making  his  face  act  rebelliously,  and 
troubling  his  eyes  with  sudden  films.  He  made  a  brief 
stand  against  this  invasion.  "  A  weakness,  —  a  weak 
ness  ! "  he  said  to  himself.  "  What  does  all  this  mean  ? 
Never  such  a  thing  for  these  twenty  years  !  Poor  child  ! 
poor  child  !  —  Excuse  me,  madam,"  he  said,  after  a  little 
interval,  but  for  what  offence  he  did  not  mention.  A 
great  deal  might  be  forgiven,  even  to  a  man  as  old  as 
Byles  Gridley,  looking  upon  such  a  face,  —  so  lovely,  yet 
so  marked  with  the  traces  of  recent  suffering,  and  even  now 
showing  by  its  changes  that  she  was  struggling  in  some 
fearful  dream.  Her  forehead  contracted,  she  started  with 
a  slight  convulsive  movement,  and  then  her  lips  parted, 
and  the  cry  escaped  from  them,  —  how  heart-breaking 
when  there  is  none  to  answer  it,  —  "  Mother  !  " 

Gone  back  again  through  all  the  weary,  chilling  years 
of  her  girlhood  to  that  hardly  remembered  morning  of  her 
life  when  the  cry  she  uttered  was  answered  by  the  light 
of  loving  eyes,  the  kiss  of  clinging  lips,  the  embrace  of 
caressing  arms  ! 

"  It  is  better  to  wake  her,"  Mrs.  Lindsay  said  ;  "  she  is 
having  a  troubled  dream.  Wake  up,  my  child,  here  is  a 
friend  waiting  to  see  you." 

She  laid  her  hand  very  gently  on  Myrtle's  forehead. 
Myrtle  opened  her  eyes,  but  they  were  vacant  as  yet. 

"  Are  we  dead  ?  "  she  said.  "Where  am  I  ?  This  is  n't 
heaven  —  there  are  no  angels  —  O,  no,  no,  no !  don't 
send  me  to  the  other  place  —  fifteen  years,  —  only  fifteen 
years  old  —  no  father,  no  mother  —  nobody  loved  me. 
Was  it  wicked  in  me  to  live  ?  "  Her  whole  theological 
training  was  condensed  in  that  last  brief  question. 


THE   GUARDIAN  AXGEL.  113 

The  old  man  took  her  hand  and  looked  her  in  the  face, 
with  a  wonderful  tenderness  in  his  squared  features. 
"  Wicked  to  live,  my  dear  ?  No  indeed  !  Here  !  look  at 
me,  my  child ;  don't  you  know  your  old  friend  Byles 
Gridley  ?  "' 

She  was  awake  now.  The  sight  of  a  familiar  counte 
nance  brought  back  a  natural  train  of  thought.  But  her 
recollection  passed  over  everything  that  had  happened 
since  Thursday  morning. 

"  Where  is  the  boat  I  was  in  ?  "  she  said.  "  I  have 
just  been  in  the  water,  and  I  was  dreaming  that  I  was 
drowned.  O  Mr.  Gridley,  is  that  you  ?  Did  you  pull 
me  out  of  the  water  ?  " 

"  No,  my  dear,  but  you  are  out  of  it,  and  safe  and  sound : 
that  is  the  main  point.  How  do  you  feel  now  you  are 
awake?" 

She  yawned,  and  stretched  her  arms  and  looked  round, 
but  did  not  answer  at  first.  This  was  all  natural,  and  a 
sign  that  she  was  coming  right.  She  looked  down  at  her 
dress.  It  was  not  inappropriate  to  her  sex,  being  a  loose 
gown  that  belonged  to  one  of  the  girls  in  the  house. 

"  I  feel  pretty  well,"  she  answered,  "  but  a  little  con 
fused.  My  boat  will  be  gone,  if  you  don't  run  and  stop  it 
now.  How  did  you  get  me  into  dry  clothes  so  quick  ?  " 

Master  Byles  Gridley  found  himself  suddenly  possessed 
by  a  large  and  luminous  idea  of  the  state  of  things,  and  made 
up  his  mind  in  a  moment  as  to  what  he  must  do.  There 
was  no  time  to  be  lost.  Every  day,  every  hour,  of  Myrtle's 
absence  was  not  only  a  source  of  anxiety  and  a  cause  of 
useless  searching,  but  it  gave  room  for  inventive  fancies  to 
imagine  evil.  It  was  better  to  run  some  risk  of  injury  to 
health,  than  to  have  her  absence  prolonged  another  day. 


114  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  Has  this  adventure  been  told  about  in  the  village,  Mrs. 
Lindsay  ?  " 

"  No,  we  thought  it  best  to  wait  until  she  could  tell  her 
own  story,  expecting  her  return  to  consciousness  every 
hour,  and  thinking  there  might  be  some  reason  for  her 
disguise  which  it  would  be  kinder  to  keep  quiet  about. " 

"  You  know  nothing  about  her,  then  ?  " 
-  "  Not  a  word.  It  was  a  great  question  whether  to  tell 
the  story  and  make  inquiries  ;  but  she  was  safe,  and  could 
hardly  bear  disturbance,  and,  my  dear  sir,  it  seemed  too 
probable  that  there  was  some  sad  story  behind  this  escape 
in  disguise,  and  that  the  poor  child  might  need  shelter  and 
retirement.  We  meant  to  do  as  well  as  we  could  for 
her." 

"  All  right,  Mrs.  Lindsay.  You  do  not  know  who  she  is, 
then  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,  and  perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  I  should  not 
know.  Then  I  shall  not  have  to  answer  any  questions 
about  it." 

"  Very  good,  madam,  — just  as  it  should  be.  And  your 
family,  are  they  as  discreet  as  yourself?" 

"  Not  one  word  of  the  whole  story  has  been  or  will  be 
told  by  any  one  of  us.  That  was  agreed  upon  among  us." 

"  Now  then,  madam.  My  name,  as  you  heard  me  say, 
is  Byles  Gridley.  Your  husband  will  know  it,  perhaps  ; 
at  any  rate  I  will  wait  until  he  comes  back.  This  child  is 
of  good  family  and  of  good  name.  I  know  her  well,  and 
mean,  with  your  kind  help,  to  save  her  from  the  conse 
quences  which  her  foolish  adventure  might  have  brought 
upon  her.  Before  the  bells  ring  for  meeting  to-morrow 
morning  this  girl  must  be  in  her  bed  at  her  home,  at  Ox 
bow  Village,  and  we  must  keep  her  story  to  ourselves  as 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  115 

far  as  may  be.  It  will  all  blow  over,  if  we  do.  The  gos 
sips  will  only  know  that  she  was  upset  in  the  river  and 
cared  for  by  some  good  people,  —  good  people  and  sensible 
people  too,  Mrs.  Lindsay.  And  now  I  want  to  see  the 
young  man  that  rescued  my  friend  here,  —  Clement  Lind 
say,  —  I  have  heard  his  name  before. 

Clement  was  not  a  beauty  for  the  moment,  but  Master  Grid- 
ley  saw  well  enough  that  he  was  a  young  man  of  the  right 
kind.  He  knew  them  at  sight,  —  fellows  with  lime  enough 
in  their  bones  and  iron  enough  in  their  blood  to  begin  with, 

—  shapely,  large-nerved,  firm-fibred  and  fine-fibred,  with 
well-spread  bases  to  their  heads  for  the  ground-floor  of  the 
faculties,  and  well-vaulted  arches  for  the  upper  range  of 
apprehensions  and  combinations.     "  Plenty  of  basements," 
he  used  to  say,  "  without  attics  and  skylights.     Plenty  of 
skylights  without  rooms  enough  and  space  enough  below." 
But  here  was  "  a  three-story  brain,"  he  said  to  himself  as 
he  looked  at  it,  and  this  was  the  youth  who  was  to  find  his 
complement  in  our  pretty  little  Susan  Poscy  !     His  judg 
ment  may  seem  to  have  been  hasty,  but  he  took  the  meas 
ure  of  young  men  of  twenty  at  sight  from  long  and  saga 
cious  observation,  as  Nurse  Byloe  knew  the  "  heft "  of  a 
baby  the  moment  she  fixed  her  old  eyes  on  it. 

Clement  was  well  acquainted  with  Byles  Gridley,  though 
he  had  never  seen  him,  for  Susan's  letters  had  had  a  good 
deal  to  say  about  him  of  late.  It  was  agreed  between  them 
that  the  story  should  be  kept  as  quiet  as  possible,  and  that 
the  young  girl  should  not  know  the  name  of  her  deliverer, 

—  it  might  save  awkward  complications.     It  was  not  likely 
that  she  would  be  disposed  to  talk  of  her  adventure,  which 
had  ended  so  disastrously,  and  thus  the  whole  story  would 
soon  die  out. 


116  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

The  effect  of  the  violent  shock  she  had  experienced  was 
to  change  the  whole  nature  of  Myrtle  for  the  time.  Her 
mind  was  unsettled :  she  could  hardly  recall  anything 
except  the  plunge  over  the  fall.  She  was  perfectly  docile 
and  plastic,  —  was  ready  to  go  anywhere  Mr.  Gridley 
wanted  her  to  go,  without  any  sign  of  reluctance.  And 
so  it  was  agreed  that  he  should  carry  her  back  in  his  cov 
ered  wagon  that  very  night.  All  possible  arrangements 
were  made  to  render  her  journey  comfortable.  The  fast 
mare  had  to  trot  very  gently,  and  the  old  master  would 
stop  and  adjust  the  pillows  from  time  to  time,  and  adminis 
ter  the  restoratives  which  the  physician  had  got  ready,  all 
as  naturally  and  easily  as  if  he  had  been  bred  a  nurse, 
vastly  to  his  own  surprise,  and  with  not  a  little  gain  to  his 
self-appreciation.  He  was  a  serviceable  kind  of  body  on 
occasion,  after  all,  was  he  not,  hey,  Mr.  Byles  Gridley  ?  he 
said  to  himself. 

At  half  past  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning  the  shep 
herd  brought  the  stray  lamb  into  the  paved  yard  at  The 
Poplars,  and  roused  the  slumbering  household  to  receive 
back  the  wanderer. 

It  was  the  Irishwoman,  Kitty  Fagan,  huddled  together 
in  such  amorphous  guise,  that  she  looked  as  if  she  had  been 
fitted  in  a  tempest  of  petticoats  and  a  whirlwind  of  old 
shawls,  who  presented  herself  at  the  door. 

But  there  was  a  very  warm  heart  somewhere  in  that 
queer-looking  bundle  of  clothes,  and  it  was  not  one  of  those 
that  can  throb  or  break  in  silence.  When  she  saw  the 
long  covered  wagon,  and  the  grave  face  of  the  old  master, 
she  thought  it  was  all  over  with  the  poor  girl  she  loved, 
and  that  this  was  the  undertaker's  wagon  bringing  back 
only  what  had  once  been  Myrtle  Hazard.  She  screamed 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  117 

aloud,  —  so  wildly  that  Myrtle  lifted  her  head  from  the 
pillow  against  which  she  had  rested  it,  and  started  for 
ward. 

„  The  Irishwoman  looked  at  her  for  a  moment  to  assure 
herself  that  it  was  the  girl  she  loved,  and  not  her  ghost. 
Then  it  all  came  over  her,  —  she  had  been  stolen  by 
thieves,  who  had  carried  her  off  by  night,  and  been  res 
cued  by  the  brave  old  man  who  had  brought  her  back. 
What  crying  and  kisses  and  prayers  and  blessings  were 
poured  forth,  in  a  confusion  of  which  her  bodily  costume 
was  a  fitting  type,  those  who  know  the  vocabulary  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  her  eloquent  race  may  imagine  better  than 
we  could  describe  it. 

The  welcome  of  the  two  other  women  was  far  less  de 
monstrative.  There  were  awful  questions  to  be  answered 
before  the  kind  of  reception  she  was  to  have  could  be  set 
tled.  What  they  were,  it  is  needless  to  suggest ;  but  while 
Miss  Silence  was  weeping,  first  with  joy  that  her  "  respon 
sibility"  was  removed,  then  with  a  fair  share  of  pity  and 
kindness,  and  other  lukewarm  emotions,  —  while  Miss 
Badlam  waited  for  an  explanation  before  giving  way  to 
her  feelings,  —  Mr.  Gridley  put  the  essential  facts  before 
them  in  a  few  words.  She  had  gone  down  the  river  some 
miles  in  her  boat,  which  was  upset  by  a  rush  of  the  current, 
and  she  had  come  very  near  being  drowned.  She  was  got 
out,  however,  by  a  person  living  near  by,  and  cared  for  by 
some  kind  women  in  a  house  near  the  river,  where  he  had 
been  fortunate  enough  to  discover  her.  —  Who  cut  her  hair 

O 

off?  Perhaps  those  good  people,  —  she  had  been  out  of 
her  head.  She  was  alive  and  unharmed,  at  any  rate, 
wanting  only  a  few  days'  rest.  They  might  be  very  thank 
ful  to  get  her  back,  and  leave  her  to  tell  the  rest  of  her 


118  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

story  when  she  had  got  her  strength  and  memory,  for 
she  was  not  quite  herself  yet,  and  might  not  be  for  some 
days. 

And  so  there  she  was  at  last  laid  in  her  own  bed,  listening 
again  to  the  ripple  of  the  waters  beneath  her,  Miss  Silence 
sitting  on  one  side  looking  as  sympathetic  as  her  insufficient 
nature  allowed  her  to  look  ;  the  Irishwoman  uncertain  be 
tween  delight  at  Myrtle's  return,  and  sorrow  for  her 
condition  ;  and  Miss  Cynthia  Bndlam  occupying  herself 
about  house-matters,  not  unwilling  to  avoid  the  necessity 
of  displaying  her  conflicting  emotions. 

Before  he  left  the  house,  Mr.  Gridley  repeated  the  state 
ment  in  the  most  precise  manner,  —  some  miles  down  the 
river  —  upset  and  nearly  drowned  —  rescued  almost  dead 
—  brought  to  and  cared  for  by  kind  women  in  the  house 
where  he,  Byles  Gridley,  found  her.  These  were  the 
facts,  and  nothing  more  than  this  was  to  be  told  at  present. 
They  had  better  be  made  known  at  once,  and  the  shortest 
and  best  way  would  be  to  have  it  announced  by  the  minis 
ter  at  meeting  that  forenoon.  With  their  permission,  he 
would  himself  write  the  note  for  Mr.  Stoker  to  read,  and 
tell  the  other  ministers  that  they  might  announce  it  to  their 
people. 

The  bells  rang  for  meeting,  but  the  little  household  at 
The  Poplars  did  not  add  to  the  congregation  that  day.  In 
the  mean  time  Kitty  Fagan  had  gone  down  with  Mr. 
Byles  Gridley's  note,  to  carry  it  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker. 
But,  on  her  way,  she  stopped  at  the  house  of  one  Mrs.  Fin- 
negan,  a  particular  friend  of  hers  ;  and  the  great  event 
of  the  morning  furnishing  matter  for  large  discourse,  and 
various  social  allurements  adding  to  the  fascination  of  having 
a  .story  to  tell,  Kitty  Fagan  forgot  her  note  until  meeting 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  119 

had  begun  and  the  minister  had  read  the  text  of  his  sermon. 
"  Bless  my  soul !  and  sure  I  've  forgot  ahl  about  the  letter  !  " 
she  cried  all  at  once,  and  away  she  tramped  for  the  meeting 
house.  The  sexton  took  the  note,  which  was  folded,  and 
said  he  would  hand  it  up  to  the  pulpit  after  the  sermon,  — 
it  would  not  do  to  interrupt  the  preacher. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  had,  as  was  said,  a  somewhat  re 
markable  gift  in  prayer,  —  an  endowment  by  no  means 
confined  to  profoundly  spiritual  persons,  —  in  fact,  not 
rarely  owing  much  of  its  force  to  a  strong  animal  nature 
underlying  the  higher  attributes.  The  sweet  singer  of 
Israel  would  never  have  written  such  petitions  and  such 
h}rmns  if  his  manhood  had  been  less  complete  ;  the  flavor  of 
remembered  frailties  could  not  help  giving  a  character  to  his 
most  devout  exercises,  or  they  would  not  have  come  quite 
home  to  our  common  humanity.  But  there  is  no  gift  more 
dangerous  to  the  humility  and  sincerity  of  a  minister. 
While  his  spirit  ought  to  be  on  its  knees  before  the  throne 
of  grace,  it  is  too  apt  to  be  on  tiptoe,  following  with  ad 
miring  look  the  flight  of  its  own  rhetoric.  The  essentially 
intellectual  character  of  an  extemporaneous  composition 
spoken  to  the  Creator  with  the  consciousness  that  many  of 
his  creatures  are  listening  to  criticise  or  to  admire,  is  the 
great  argument  for  set  forms  of  prayer. 

The  congregation  on  this  particular  Sunday  was  made 
up  chiefly  of  women  and  old  men.  The  young  men  were 
hunting  after  Myrtle  Hazard.  Mr.  Byles  Gridley  was  in 
his  place,  wondering  why  the  minister  did  not  read  his 
notice  before  the  prayer.  This  prayer  was  never  reported, 
as  is  the  questionable  custom  with  regard  to  some  of  these 
performances,  but  it  was  wrought  up  with  a  good  deal  of 
rasping  force  and  broad  pathos.  When  he  came  to  pray 


120  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

for  "  our  youthful  sister,  missing  from  her  pious  home, 
perhaps  nevermore  to  return  to  her  afflicted  relatives,'7  and 
the  women  and  old  men  began  crying,  Byles  Gridley  was 
on  the  very  point  of  getting  up  and  cutting  short  the  whole 
matter  by  stating  the  simple  fact  that  she  had  got  back,  all 
right,  and  suggesting  that  he  had  better  pray  for  some  of 
the  older  and  tougher  sinners  before  him.  But  on  the 
whole  it  would  be  more  decorous  to  wait,  and  perhaps  he 
was  willing  to  hear  what  the  object  of  his  favorite  antipathy 
had  to  say  about  it.  So  he  waited  through  the  prayer. 
He  waited  through  the  hymn,  "  Life  is  the  time  —  "  He 
waited  to  hear  the  sermon. 

The  minister  gave  out  his  text  from  the  Book  of  Esther, 
second  chapter,  seventh  verse  :  "For  she  had  neither  father 
nor  mother,  and  the  maid  was  fair  and  beautiful.'"  It  was 
to  be  expected  that  the  reverend  gentleman,  who  loved  to 
produce  a  sensation,  would  avail  himself  of  the  excitable 
state  of  his  audience  to  sweep  the  key-board  of  their  emo 
tions,  while,  as  we  may  say,  all  the  stops  were  drawn  out. 
His  sermon  was  from  notes  ;  for,  though  absolutely  extem 
poraneous  composition  may  be  acceptable  to  one's  Maker, 
it  is  not  considered  quite  the  thing  in  speaking  to  one's 
fellow-mortals.  He  discoursed  for  a  time  on  the  loss  of 
parents,  and  on  the  dangers  to  which  the  unfortunate  orphan 
is  exposed.  Then  he  spoke  of  the  peculiar  risks  of  the 
tender  female  child,  left  without  its  natural  guardians. 
Warming  with  his  subject,  he  dilated  with  wonderful  unction 
on  the  temptations  springing  from  personal  attractions. 
He  pictured  the  "  fair  and  beautiful  "  women  of  Holy  Writ, 
lingering  over  their  names  with  lover-like  devotion.  He 
brought  Esther  before  his  audience,  bathed  and  perfumed 
for  the  royal  presence  of  Ahasuerus.  He  showed  them 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  121 

the  sweet  young  Ruth,  lying  down  in  her  innocence  at 
the  feet  of  the  lord  of  the  manor.  He  dwelt  with  special 
luxury  on  the  charms  which  seduced  the  royal  psalmist,  - — 
the  soldier's  wife  for  whom  he  broke  the  commands  of  the 
decalogue,  and  the  maiden  for  whose  attentions,  in  his 
cooler  years,  he  violated  the  dictates  of  prudence  and  pro 
priety.  All  this  time  Byles  Gridley  had  his  stern  eyes 
on  him.  And  while  he  kindled  into  passionate  eloquence 
on  these  inspiring  themes,  poor  Bathsheba,  whom  her 
mother  had  sent  to  church  that  she  might  get  a  little  respite 
from  her  home  duties,  felt  her  blood  growing  cold  in  her 
veins,  as  the  pallid  image  of  the  invalid  wife,  lying  on  her 
bed  of  suffering,  rose  in  the  midst  of  the  glowing  pictures 
which  borrowed  such  warmth  from  her  husband's  imagina 
tion. 

The  sermon,  with  its  hinted  application  to  the  event  of 
the  past  week,  was  over  at  last.  The  shoulders  of  the  ner 
vous  women  were  twitching  with  sobs.  The  old  men  were 
crying  in  their  vacant  way.  But  all  the  while  the  face  of 
Byles  Gridley,  firm  as  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  this  lachrymal 
inundation,  was  kept  steadily  on  the  preacher,  who  had 
often  felt  the  look  that  came  through  the  two  round  glasses 
searching  into  the  very  marrow  of  his  bones. 

As  the  sermon  was  finished,  the  sexton  marched  up 
through  the  broad  aisle  and  handed  the  note  over  the  door 
of  the  pulpit  to  the  clergyman,  who  was  wiping  his  face 
after  the  exertion  of  delivering  his  discourse.  Mr.  Stoker 
looked  at  it,  started,  changed  color,  —  his  vision  of  "  The 
Dangers  of  Beauty,  a  Sermon  printed  by  Request,"  had 
vanished,  —  and  passed  the  note  to  Father  Pemberton,  who 
sat  by  him  in  the  pulpit.  With  much  pains  he  deciphered 
its  contents,  for  his  eyes  were  dim  with  years,  and,  having 


122  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

read  it,  bowed  his  head  upon  his  hands  in  silentT  thanks 
giving.  Then  he  rose  in  the  beauty  of  his  tranquil  and  noble 
old  age,  so  touched  with  the  message  he  had  to  proclaim  to 
his  people,  that  the  three  deep  furrows  on  his  forehead, 
which  some  said  he  owed  to  the  three  dogmas  of  original 
sin,  predestination,  and  endless  torment,  seemed  smoothed 
for  the  moment,  and  his  face  was  as  that  of  an  angel  while 
he  spoke. 

"  Sisters  and  Brethren,  —  Rejoice  with  us,  for  we  have 
found  our  lamb  which  had  strayed  from  the  fold.  This 
our  daughter  was  dead  and  is  alive  again  ;  she  was  lost 
and  is  found.  Myrtle  Hazard,  rescued  from  great  peril  of 
the  waters,  and  cared  for  by  good  Samaritans,  is  now  in 
her  home.  Thou,  O  Lord,  who  didst  let  the  water-flood 
overflow  her,  didst  not  let  the  deep  swallow  her  up,  nor 
the  pit  shut  its  mouth  upon  her.  Let  us  return  our  thanks 
to  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  the  God  of 
Jacob,  who  is  our  God  and  Father,  and  who  hath  wrought 
this  great  deliverance." 

After  his  prayer,  which  it  tried  him  sorely  to  utter  in 
unbroken  tones,  he  gave  out  the  hymn, 

"  Lord,  thou  hast  heard  thy  servant  cry, 
And  rescued  from  the  grave  "  ; 

but  it  was  hardly  begun  when  the  leading  female  voice 
trembled  and  stopped,  —  and  another,  —  and  then  a  third,  — 
and  Father  Pemberton,  seeing  that  they  were  all  overcome, 
arose  and  stretched  out  his  arms,  and  breathed  over  them 
his  holy  benediction. 

The  village  was  soon  alive  with  the  news.  The  sexton 
forgot  the  solemnity  of  the  Sabbath,  and  the  bell  acted  as 
if  it  was  crazy,  tumbling  heels  over  head  at  such  a  rate, 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  123 

and  with  such  a  clamor,  that  a  good  many  thought  there 
was  a  fire,  and,  rushing  out  from  every  quarter,  instantly 
caught  the  great  news  with  which  the  air  was  ablaze. 

A  few  of  the  young  men  who  had  come  back  went  even 
further  in  their  demonstrations.  They  got  a  small  cannon 
in  readiness,  and  without  waiting  for  the  going  down 
of  the  sun,  began  firing  rapidly,  upon  which  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Stoker  sallied  forth  to  put  a  stop  to  this  violation  of 
the  Sabbath.  But  in  the  mean  time  it  was  heard  on  all 
the  hills,  far  and  near.  Some  said  they  were  firing  in 
the  hope  of  raising  the  corpse  ;  but  many  who  heard  the 
bells  ringing  their  crazy  peals  guessed  what  had  happened. 
Before  night  the  parties  were  all  in,  one  detachment  bear 
ing  the  body  of  the  bob-tailed  catamount  swung  over  a 
pole,  like  the  mighty  cluster  of  grapes  from  Eshcol,  and 
another  conveying  with  wise  precaution  that  monstrous 
snapping-turtle  which  those  of  our  friends  who  wish  to 
see  will  find  among  the  specimens  marked  Chelydra  Ser- 
pentina  in  the  great  collection  at  Cantabridge. 


124:  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

VEXED     WITH     A     DEVIL. 

IT  was  necessary  at  once  to  summon  a  physician  to  ad 
vise  as  to  the  treatment  of  Myrtle,  who  had  received  a 
shock,  bodily  and  mental,  not  lightly  to  be  got  rid  of,  and 
very  probably  to  be  followed  by  serious  and  varied  dis 
turbances.  Her  very  tranquillity  was  suspicious,  for  there 
must  be  something  of  exhaustion  in  it,  and  the  reaction 
must  come  sooner  or  later. 

Old  Dr.  Lemuel  Hurlbut,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two,  very 
deaf,  very  nearly  blind,  very  feeble,  liable  to  odd  lapses  of 
memory,  was  yet  a  wise  counsellor  in  doubtful  and  difficult 
cases,  and  on  rare  occasions  was  still  called  upon  to  exercise 
his  ancient  skill.  Here  was  a  case  in  which  a  few  words 
from  him  might  soothe  the  patient  and  give  confidence  to 
all  who  were  interested  in  her.  Miss  Silence  Withers 
went  herself  to  see  him. 

"Miss  Withers,  father,  wants  to  talk  with  you  about 
her  grand-niece,  Miss  Hazard,"  said  Dr.  Fordyce  Hurl- 
but. 

Miss  Withers,  Miss  Withers?  — O,  Silence  Withers, 
—  lives  up  at  The  Poplars.  How 's  the  Deacon,  Miss 
Withers?"  [Ob.  1810.] 

"  My  grandfather  is  not  living,  Dr.  Hurlbut,"  she 
screamed  into  his  ear. 

"  Dead,  is  he  ?  Well,  it  is  n't  long  since  he  was  with 
us ;  and  they  come  and  go,  —  they  come  and  go.  I  re 
member  his  father,  Major  Gideon  Withers.  He  had  a 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  125 

great  red  feather  on  training-days,  —  that  was  what  made 
me  remember  him.  Who  did  you  say  was  sick  and 
wanted  to  see  me,  Fordyce  ?  " 

"  Myrtle  Hazard,  father,  —  she  has  had  a  narrow  es 
cape  from  drowning,  and  it  has  left  her  in  a  rather  ner 
vous  state.  They  would  like  to  have  you  go  up  to  The 
Poplars  and  take  a  look  at  her.  You  remember  Myrtle 
Hazard?  She  is  the  great-granddaughter  of  your  old 
friend  the  Deacon." 

He  had  to  wait  a  minute  before  hi's  thoughts  would 
come  to  order ;  with  a  little  time,  the  proper  answer 
would  be  evolved  by  the  slow  automatic  movement  of  the 
rusted  mental  machinery. 

After  the  silent  moment :  "  Myrtle  Hazard,  Myrtle 
Hazard,  —  yes,  yes,  to  be  sure  !  The  old  Withers  stock, 
—  good  constitutions,  —  a  little  apt  to  be  nervous,  one  or 
two  of  'em.  I  'v7e  given  'em  a  good  deal  of  valerian  and 
assafbctida,  —  not  quite  so  much  since  the  new  blood  came 
in.  There  is  n't  the  change  in  folks  people  think,  —  same 
thing  over  and  over  again.  I  've  seen  six  fingers  on  a 
child  that  had  a  six-fingered  great-uncle,  and  I  Ve  seen 
that  child's  grandchild  born  with  six  fingers.  Does  this 
girl  like  to  have  her  own  way  pretty  well,  like  the  rest  of 
the  family  ?  " 

"  A  little  too  well,  I  suspect,  father.  You  will  remem 
ber  all  about  her  when  you  come  to  see  her  and  talk  with 
her.  She  would  like  to  talk  with  you,  and  her  aunt  wants 
to  see  you  too ;  they  think  there  's  nobody  like  the  '  old 
Doctor.' " 

He  was  not  too  old  to  be  pleased  with  this  preference, 
and  said,  he  was  willing  to  go  when  they  were  ready. 
With  no  small  labor  of  preparation  he  was  at  last  got  to 


126  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  house,  and  crept  with  his  son's  aid  up  to  the  little 
room  over  the  water,  where  his  patient  was  still  lying. 

There  was  a  little  too  much  color  in  Myrtle's  cheeks, 
and  a  glistening  lustre  in  her  eyes  that  told  of  unnatural 
excitement.  It  gave  a  strange  brilliancy  to  her  beauty, 
and  might  have  deceived  an  unpractised  observer.  The 
old  man  looked  at  her  long  and  curiously,  his  imperfect 
sight  excusing  the  closeness  of  his  scrutiny. 

He  laid  his  trembling  hand  upon  her  forehead,  and  then 
felt  her  pulse  with  his  shrivelled  fingers.  He  asked  her 
various  questions  about  herself,  which  she  answered  with 
a  tone  not  quite  so  calm  as  natural,  but  willingly  and  in 
telligently.  They  thought  she  seemed  to  the  old  Doctor 
to  be  doing  very  well,  for  he  spoke  cheerfully  to  her,  and 
treated  her  in  such  a  way  that  neither  she  nor  any  of 
those  around  her  could  be  alarmed.  The  younger  phy 
sician  was  disposed  to  think  she  was  only  suffering  from 
temporary  excitement,  and  that  it  would  soon  pass  off. 

They  left  the  room  to  talk  it  over. 

"  It  does  not  amount  to  much,  I  suppose,  father,"  said 
Dr.  Fordyce  Hurlbut.  "  You  made  the  pulse  about  nine 
ty, —  a  little  hard,  —  didn't  you,  as  I  did?  Rest,  and 
low  diet  for  a  day  or  two,  and  all  will  be  right,  won't  it  ?  " 

Was  it  the  feeling  of  sympathy,  or  was  it  the  pride  of 
superior  sagacity,  that  changed  the  look  of  the  old  man's 
wrinkled  features  ?  "  Not  so  fast,  —  not  so  fast,  Fordyce," 
he  said.  "  I  've  seen  that  look  on  another  face  of  the  same 
blood,  —  it 's  a  great  many  years  ago,  and  she  was  dead 
before  you  were  born,  my  boy,  —  but  I  've  seen  that  look, 
and  it  meant  trouble  then,  and  I  'm  afraid  it  means  trouble 
now.  I  see  some  danger  of  a  brain  fever.  And  if  she 
does  n't  have  that,  then  look  out  for  some  hysteric  fits  that 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  127 

will  make  mischief.  Take  that  handkerchief  off  of  her 
head,  and  cut  her  hair  close,  and  keep  her  temples  cool, 
and  put  some  drawing  plasters  to  the  soles  of  her  feet,  and 
give  her  some  of  my  pilulce  composite*;,  and  follow  them 
with  some  doses  of  sal  polychrest.  I  've  been  through  it 
all  before  in  that  same  house.  Live  folks  are  only  dead 
folks  warmed  over.  I  can  see  'em  all  in  that  girl's  face, 
—  Handsome  Judith,  to  begin  with.  And  that  queer 
woman,  the  Deacon's  mother,  —  there 's  where  she  gets 
that  hystericky  look.  Yes,  and  the  black-eyed  woman 
with  the  Indian  blood  in  her,  —  look  out  for  that,  —  look 
out  for  that.  And  —  and  —  my  son,  do  you  remember 
Major  Gideon  Withers  ?  "  [Ob.  1780.] 

"  Why  no,  father,  I  can't  say  that  I  remember  the 
Major ;  but  I  know  the  picture  very  well.  Does  she 
remind  you  of  him  ?  " 

He  paused  again,  until  the  thoughts  came  slowly  strag 
gling  up  to  the  point  where  the  question  left  him.  He 
shook  his  head  solemnly,  and  turned  his  dim  eyes  on  his 
son's  face. 

"  Four  generations  —  four  generations,  man  and  wife,  — 
yes,  five  generations,  for  old  Selah  Withers  took  me  in  his 
arms  when  I  was  a  child,  and  called  me  '  little  gal,'  for  I 
was  in  girl's  clothes,  —  five  generations  before  this  Hazard 
child  I  've  looked  on  with  these  old  eyes.  And  it  seems 
to  me  that  I  can  see  something  of  almost  every  one  of  'em 
in  this  child's  face^ —  it 's  the  forehead  of  this  one,  and  it 's 
the  eyes  of  that  one,  and  it 's  that  other's  mouth,  and  the 
look  that  I  remember  in  another,  and  when  she  speaks, 
why,  I  've  heard  that  same  voice  before  —  yes,  yes  —  as 
long  ago  as  when  I  was  first  married  ;  for  I  remember 
Rachel  used  to  think  I  praised  Handsome  Judith's  voice 


128  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

more  than  it  deserved,  —  and  her  face  too,  for  that  matter. 
You  remember  Rachel,  my  first  wife,  —  don't  you,  For- 
dyce?" 

"  No,  father,  I  don't  remember  her,  but  I  know  her 
portrait."  (As  he  was  the  son  of  the  old  Doctor's  second 
wife,  he  could  hardly  be  expected  to  remember  her  prede 
cessor.) 

The  old  Doctor's  sagacity  was  not  in  fault  about  the 
somewhat  threatening  aspect  of  Myrtle's  condition.  His 
directions  were  followed  implicitly  ;  for  with  the  exception 
of  the  fact  of  sluggishness  rather  than  loss  of  memory,  and 
of  that  confusion  of  dates  which  in  slighter  degrees  is  often 
felt  as  early  as  middle-life,  and  increases  in  most  persons 
from  year  to  year,  his  mind  was  still  penetrating,  and  his 
advice  almost  as  trustworthy,  as  in  his  best  days. 

It  was  very  fortunate  that  the  old  Doctor  ordered  Myr 
tle's  hair  to  be  cut,  and  Miss  Silence  took  the  scissors  and 
trimmed  it  at  once.  So,  whenever  she  got  well  and  was 
seen  about,  there  would  be  no  mystery  about  the  loss  of 
her  locks.  —  the  Doctor  had  been  afraid  of  brain  fever,  and 
ordered  them  to  cut  her  hair. 

Many  things  are  uncertain  in  this  world,  and  among 
them  the  effect  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  remedies  pre 
scribed  by  physicians.  Whether  it  was  by  the  use  of  the 
means  ordered  by  the  old  Doctor,  or  by  the  efforts  of 
nature,  or  by  both  together,  at  any  rate  the  first  danger 
was  averted,  and  the  immediate  risk  from  brain  fever  soon 
passed  over.  But  the  impression  upon  her  mind  and  body 
had  been  too  profound  to  be  dissipated  by  a  few  days'  rest. 
The  hysteric  stage  which  the  wise  old  man  had  appre 
hended  began  to  manifest  itself  by  its  usual  signs,  if  any 
thing  can  be  called  usual  in  a  condition  the  natural  order  of 
which  is  disorder  and  anomaly. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  129 

And  now  the  reader,  if  such  there  be,  who  believes  in 
the  absolute  independence  and  self-determination  of  the 
will,  and  the  consequent  total  responsibility  of  every  human 
being  for  every  irregular  nervous  action  and  ill-governed 
muscular  contraction,  may  as  well  lay  down  this  narrative, 
or  he  may  lose  all  faith  in  poor  Myrtle  Hazard,  and  all 
patience  with  the  writer  who  tells  her  story. 

The  mental  excitement  so  long  sustained,  followed  by 
a  violent  shock  to  the  system,  coming  just  at  the  period 
of  rapid  development,  gave  rise  to  that  morbid  condition, 
accompanied  with  a  series  of  mental  and  moral  perversions, 
which  in  ignorant  ages  and  communities  is  attributed  to  the 
influence  of  evil  spirits,  but  for  the  better-instructed  is  the 
malady  which  they  call  hysteria.  Few  households  have 
ripened  a  growth  of  womanhood  without  witnessing  some 
of  its  manifestations,  and  its  phenomena  are  largely  traded 
in  by  scientific  pretenders  ai»d  religious  fanatics.  Into 
this  cloud,  with  all  its  risks  and  all  its  humiliations,  Myrtle 
Hazard  is  about  to  enter.  Will  she  pass  through  it  un 
harmed,  or  wander  from  her  path,  and  fall  over  one  of 
those  fearful  precipices  which  lie  before  her  ? 

After  the  ancient  physician  had  settled  the  general  plan 
of  treatment,  its  details  and  practical  application  were  left 
to  the  care  of  his  son.  Dr.  Fordyce  Hurlbut  was  a  wid 
ower,  not  yet  forty  years  old,  a  man  of  a  fine  masculine 
aspect  and  a  vigorous  nature.  He  was  a  favorite  with  his 
female  patients,  —  perhaps  many  of  them  would  have  said 
because  he  was  good-looking  and  pleasant  in  his  manners, 
but  some  thought  in  virtue  of  a  special  magnetic  power  to 
which  certain  temperaments  were  impressible,  though  there 
was  no  explaining  it.  But  he  himself  never  claimed  any 
such  personal  gift,  and  never  attempted  any  of  the  exploits 
6*  i 


130  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

which  some  thought  were  in  his  power  if  he  chose  to  exer 
cise  his  faculty  in  that  direction.  This  girl  was,  as  it  were, 
a  child  to  him,  for  he  had  seen  her  grow  up  from  infancy, 
and  had  often  held  her  on  his  knee  in  her  early  years. 
The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  get  her  a  nurse,  for  he  saw 
that  neither  of  the  two  women  about  her  exercised  a  quiet 
ing  influence  upon  her  nerves.  So  he  got  her  old  friend, 
Nurse  Byloe,  to  come  and  take  care  of  her. 

The  old  nurse  looked  calm  enough  at  one  or  two  of  his 
first  visits,  but  the  next  morning  her  face  showed  that 
something  had  been  going  wrong.  "  Well,  what  has  been 
the  trouble,  Nurse  ?  "  the  Doctor  said,  as  soon  as  he  could 
get  her  out  of  the  room. 

"  She  's  been  attackted,  Doctor,  sence  you  been  here, 
dreadful.  It 's  them  high  stirricks,  Doctor,  V  I  never  see 
'em  higher,  nor  more  of  'em.  Laughin'  as  ef  she  would 
bust.  Cry  in'  as  ef  she  *d  lost  all  her  friends,  'n'  was  a 
fpllerin'  their  corpse  to  their  graves.  And  spassums,  — 
sech  spassums !  And  ketchin'  at  her  throat,  'n'  sayin' 
there  was  a  great  ball  a  risin'  into  it  from  her  stommick. 
One  time  she  had  a  kind  o'  lockjaw  like.  And  one  time 
she  stretched  herself  out  'n'  laid  jest  as  stiff  as  ef  she  was 
dead.  And  she  says  now  that  her  head  feels  as  ef  a  nail 
had  been  driv'  into  it,  —  into  the  left  temple,  she  says,  and 
that 's  what  makes  her  look  so  distressed  now." 

The  Doctor  came  once  more  to  her  bedside.  He  saw 
that  her  forehead  was  contracted,  and  that  she  was  evident 
ly  suffering  from  severe  pain  somewhere. 

"  Where  is  your  uneasiness,  Myrtle  ?  "  he  asked. 

She  moved  her  hand  very  slowly,  and  pressed  it  on  her 
left  temple.  He  laid  his  hand  upon  the  same  spot,  kept  it 
there  a  moment,  and  then  removed  it.  She  took  it  gently 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  131 

with  her  own,  and  placed  it  on  her  temple  again.  As  he 
sat  watching  her,  he  saw  that  her  features  were  growing 
easier,  and  in  a  short  time  her  deep,  even  breathing  showed 
that  she  was  asleep. 

"  It  beats  all,"  the  old  Nurse  said.  "  Why,  she 's  been  a 
complainin'  ever  sence  daylight,  and  she  hain't  slep'  not  a 
wink  afore,  sence  twelve  o'clock  las'  night !  It  's  jes'  like 
them  magnetizers,  —  I  never  heerd  you  was  one  o'  them 
kind,  Dr.  Hulburt." 

"  I  can't  say  how  it  is,  Nurse,  —  I  have  heard  people 
say  my  hand  was  magnetic,  but  I  never  thought  of  its 
quieting  her  so  quickly.  No  sleep  since  twelve  o'clock 
last  night,  you  say  ?  " 

"  Not  a  wink,  'n'  actin'  as  ef  she  was  possessed  a  good 
deal  o'  the  time.  You  read  your  Bible,  Doctor,  don't  you? 
You  're  pious  ?  Do  you  remember  about  that  woman  in 
Scriptur'  out  of  whom  the  Lord  cast  seven  devils  ?  Well, 
I  should  ha'  thought  there  was  seventy  devils  in  that  gal 
last  night,  from  the  way  she  carr'd  on.  And  now  she  lays 
there  jest  as  peaceful  as  a  new-born  babe,  —  that  is,  accordin' 
to  the  sayin'  about  'em ;  for  as  to  peaceful  new-born  babes, 
I  never  see  one  that  come  t'  anything,  that  did  n't  screech 
as  ef  the  haouse  was  afire  'n'  it  wanted  to  call  all  the  fire- 
ingines  within  ten  mild." 

The  Doctor  smiled,  but  he  became  thoughtful  in  a  mo 
ment.  Did  he  possess  a  hitherto  unexercised  personal 
power,  which  put  the  key  of  this  young  girl's  nervous 
system  into  his  hands  ?  The  remarkable  tranqiUllizing 
effect  of  the  contact  of  his  hand  with  her  forehead  looked 
like  an  immediate  physical  action.  It  might  have  been  a 
mere  coincidence,  however.  He  would  not  form  an  opin 
ion  until  his  next  visit. 


132  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

At  that  next  visit  it  did  seem  as  if  some  of  Nurse  Byloe's 
seventy  devils  had  possession  of  the  girl.  All  the  strange 
spasmodic  movements,  the  chokings,  the  odd  sounds,  the 
wild  talk,  the  laughing  and  crying,  were  in  full  blast.  All 
the  remedies  which  had  been  ordered  seemed  to  have  been 
of  no  avail.  The  Doctor  could  hardly  refuse  trying  his 
quasi  magnetic  influence,  and  placed  the  tips  of  his  fingers 
on  her  forehead.  The  result  was  the  same  that  had  fol 
lowed  the  similar  proceeding  the  day  before,  —  the  storm 
was  so9n  calmed,  and  after  a  little  time  she  fell  into  a 
quiet  sleep,  as  in  the  first  instance. 

Here  was  an  awkward  affair  for  the  physician,  to  be 
sure  !  He  held  this  power  in  his  hands,  which  no  remedy 
and  no  other  person  seemed  to  possess.  How  long  would 
he  be  chained  to  her,  and  she  to  him,  and  what  would  be 
the  consequence  of  the  mysterious  relation  which  must 
necessarily  spring  up  between  a  man  like  him,  in  the 
plenitude  of  vital  force,  of  strongly  attractive  personality, 
and  a  young  girl  organized  for  victory  over  the  calmest 
blood  and  the  steadiest  resistance  ? 

Every  day  after  this  made  matters  worse.  There  was 
something  almost  partaking  of  the  miraculous  in  the  influ 
ence  he  was  acquiring  over  her.  His  "  Peace,  be  still !  " 
was  obeyed  by  the  stormy  elements  of  this  young  soul,  as 
if  it  had  been  a  supernatural  command.  How  could  he 
resist  the  dictate  of  humanity  which  called  him  to  make  his 
visits  more  frequent,  that  her  intervals  of  rest  might  be 
more  numerous  ?  How  could  he  refuse  to  sit  at  her  bed 
side  for  a  while  in  the  evening,  that  she  might  be  quieted, 
instead  of  beginning  the  night  sleepless  and  agitated  ? 

The  Doctor  was  a  man  of  refined  feeling  as  well  as  of 
principle,  and  he  had  besides  a  sacred  memory  in  the 


THE   GUARDIAN  AXGEL.  133 

deepest  heart  of  his  affections.  It  was  the  common  belief 
in  the  village  that  he  would  never  marry  again,  but  that 
his  first  and  only  love  was  buried  in  the  grave  of  the  wife 
of  his  youth.  It  did  not  easily  occur  to  him  to  suspect 
himself  of  any  weakness  with  regard  to  this  patient  of  his, 
little  more  than  a  child  in  years.  It  did  not  at  once  sug 
gest  itself  to  him  that  she,  in  her  strange,  excited  condition, 
might  fasten  her  wandering  thoughts  upon  him,  too  far  re 
moved  by  his  age,  as  it  seemed,  to  strike  the  fancy  of  a  young 
girl  under  almost  any  conceivable  conditions. 

Thus  it  was  that  many  of  those  beautiful  summer  even 
ings  found  him  sitting  by  his  patient,  the  river  rippling  and 
singing  beneath  them,  the  moon  shining  over  them,  sweet 
odors  from  the  thickets  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  stealing 
in  on  the  soft  air  that  came  through  the  open  window,  and 
every  time  they  were  thus  together,  the  subtile  influence 
which  bound  them  to  each  other  bringing  them  more  and 
more  into  inexplicable  harmonies  and  almost  spiritual  iden 
tity. 

But  all  this  did  not  hinder  the  development  of  new  and 
strange  conditions  in  Myrtle  Hazard.  Her  will  was  losing 
its  power.  "  I  cannot  help  it  "  —  the  hysteric  motto  —  was 
her  constant  reply.  It  is  not  pleasant  to  confess  the  truth, 
but  she  was  rapidly  undergoing  a  singular  change  of  her 
moral  nature.  She  had  been  a  truthful  child.  If  she  had 
kept  her  secret  about  what  she  found  in  the  garret,  she 
thought  she  was  exercising  her  rights,  and  she  had  never 
been  obliged  to  tell  any  lies  about  it. 

But  now  she  seemed  to  have  lost  the  healthy  instincts 
for  veracity  and  honesty.  She  feigned  all  sorts  of  odd 
symptoms,  and  showed  a  wonderful  degree  of  cunning  in 
giving  an  appearance  of  truth  to  them.  It  became  next  to 


134  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

impossible  to  tell  what  was  real  and  what  was  simulated. 
At  one  time  she  could  not  be  touched  ever  so  lightly  with 
out  shrinking  and  crying  out.  At  another  time  she  would 
squint,  and  again  she  would  be  half  paralyzed  for  a  time. 
She  would  pretend  to  fast  for  days,  living  on  food  she  had 
concealed  and  took  secretly  in  the  night. 

The  nurse  was  getting  worn  out.  Kitty  Pagan  would 
have  had  the  priest  come  to  the  house  and  sprinkle  it  with 
holy  water.  The  two  women  were  beginning  to  get  ner 
vous  themselves.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  said  in  confidence 
to  Miss  Silence,  that  there  was  reason  to  fear  she  might 
have  been  given  over  for  a  time  to  the  buffetings  of  Satan, 
and  that  perhaps  his  (Mr.  Stoker's)  personal  attentions 
might  be  useful  in  that  case.  And  so  it  appeared  that  the 
"  young  doctor  "  was  the  only  being  left  with  whom  she 
had  any  complete  relations  and  absolute  sympathy.  She 
had  become  so  passive  in  his  hands  that  it  seemed  as  if 
her  only  healthy  life  was,  as  it  were,  transmitted  through 
him,  and  that  she  depended  on  the  transfer  of  his  nervous 
power,  as  the  plant  upon  the  light  for  its  essential  living 
processes. 

The  two  young  men  who  had  met  in  so  unexpected  a 
manner  on  board  the  ship  Swordfish  had  been  reasonably 
discreet  in  relating  their  adventures.  Myrtle  Hazard  may 
or  may  not  have  had  the  plan  they  attributed  to  her ;  how 
ever  that  was,  they  had  looked  rather  foolish  when  they 
met,  and  had  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  be  very  com 
municative  about  the  matter  when  they  returned.  It  had 
at  least  given  them  a  chance  to  become  a  little  better  ac 
quainted  with  each  other,  and  it  was  an  opportunity  which 
the  elder  and  more  artful  of  the  two  meant  to  turn  to  ad 
vantage. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  135 

Of  all  Myrtle's  few  friends  only  one  was  in  the  habit  of 
seeing  her  often  during  this  period,  namely,  Olive  Eveleth, 
a  girl  so  quiet  and  sensible  that  she,  if  anybody,  could  be 
trusted  with  her.  But  Myrtle's  whole  character  seemed 
to  have  changed,  and  Olive  soon  found  that  she  was  in 
some  mystic  way  absorbed  into  another  nature.  Except 
when  the  physician's  will  was  exerted  upon  her,  she  was 
drifting  without  any  self-directing  power,  and  then  any  one 
of  those  manifold  impulses  which  would  in  some  former 
ages  have  been  counted  as  separate  manifestations  on  the 
part  of  distinct  demoniacal  beings  might  take  possession  of 
her.  Olive  did  little,  therefore,  but  visit  Myrtle  from  time 
to  time  to  learn  if  any  change  had  occurred  in  her  condition. 
All  this  she  reported  to  Cyprian,  and  all  this  was  got  out 
of  him  by  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw. 

That  gentleman  was  far  from  being  pleased  with  the 
look  of  things  as  they  were  represented.  What  if  the 
Doctor,  who  was  after  all  in  the  prime  of  life  and  younger- 
looking  than  some  who  were  born  half  a  dozen  years  after 
him,  should  get  a  hold  on  this  young  woman,  —  girl  now, 
if  you  will,  but  in  a  very  few  years  certain  to  come  within 
possible,  nay,  not  very  improbable,  matrimonial  range  of 
him  ?  That  would  be  pleasant,  would  n't  it.  It  had  hap 
pened  sometimes,  as  he  knew,  that  these  magnetizing  tricks 
had  led  to  infatuation  on  the  part  of  the  subjects  of  the 
wonderful  influence.  So  he  concluded  to  be  ill  and  consult 
the  younger  Dr.  Hurlbut,  and  incidentally  find  out  how  the 
land  lay. 

The  next  question  was,  what  to  be  ill  with.  Some  not 
ungentlemanly  malady,  not  hereditary,  not  incurable,  not 
requiring  any  obvious  change  in  habits  of  life.  Dyspepsia 
would  answer  the  purpose  well  enough ;  so  Mr.  Murray 


136  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Braclshaw  picked  up  a  medical  book  and  read  ten  minutes 
or  more  for  that  complaint.  At  the  end  of  this  time  he 
was  an  accomplished  dyspeptic  ;  for  lawyers  half  learn  a 
thing  quicker  than  the  members  of  any  other  profession. 

He  presented  himself  with  a  somewhat  forlorn  counte 
nance  to  Dr.  Fordyce  Hurlbut,  as  suffering  from  some  of  the 
less  formidable  symptoms  of  that  affection.  He  got  into  a 
very  interesting  conversation  with  him,  especially  about 
some  nervous  feelings  which  had  accompanied  his  attack  of 
indigestion.  Thence  to  nervous  complaints  in  general. 
Thence  to  the  case  of  the  young  lady  at  The  Poplars  whom 
he  was  attending.  The  Doctor  talked  with  a  certain  re 
serve,  as  became  his  professional  relations  with  his  patient ; 
but  it  was  plain  enough  that,  if  this  kind  of  intercourse 
went  on  much  longer,  it  would  be  liable  to  end  in  some 
emotional  explosion  or  other,  and  there  was  no  saying  how 
it  would  at  last  turn  out. 

Murray  Bradshaw  was  afraid  to  meddle  directly.  He 
knew  something  more  about  the  history  of  Myrtle's  ad 
venture  than  any  of  his  neighbors,  and,  among  other  things, 
that  it  had  given  Mr.  Byles  Gridley  a  peculiar  interest  in 
her,  of  which  he  could  take  advantage.  He  therefore  art 
fully  hinted  his  fears  to  the  old  man,  and  left  his  hint  to 
work  itself  out. 

However  suspicious  Master  Gridley  was  of  him  and  his 
motives,  he  thought  it  worth  while  to  call  up  at  The  Pop 
lars  and  inquire  for  himself  of  the  nurse  what  was  this  new 
relation  growing  up  between  the  physician  and  his  young 
patient. 

She  imparted  her  opinion  to  him  in  a  private  conversa 
tion  with  great  freedom.  "  Sech  doin's  !  sech  doin's  !  The 
gal 's  jest  as  much  bewitched  as  ever  any  gal  was  sence 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  137 

them  that  was  possessed  in  Scriptur'.  And  every  day  it 's 
wus  and  wus.  Ef  that  Doctor  don't  stop  comin',  she  won't 
breathe  without  his  helpiu'  her  to  before  long.  And,  Mr. 
Gridley,  —  I  don't  like  to  say  so,  —  but  I  can't  help  think- 
in'  he  's  gettin'  a  little  bewitched  too.  I  don't  believe  he 
means  to  take  no  kind  of  advantage  of  her  ;  but,  Mr.  Grid- 
ley?  you  've  seen  them  millers  fly  round  and  round  a 
candle,  and  you  know  how  it  ginerally  comes  out.  Men  is 
men  and  gals  is  gals.  I  would  n't  trust  no  man,  not  ef  he 
was  much  under  a  hundred  year  old,  —  and  as  for  a 
gal  —  !" 

"  Mullen  ne  mortuce  quidem  credendum  est"  said  Mr. 
Gridley.  "  You  would  n't  trust  a  woman  even  if  she  was 
dead,  hey,  Nurse  ?  " 

"Not  till  she  was  "buried,  V  the  grass  growin'  a  foot 
high  over  her,"  said  Nurse  Byloe,  "  unless  I  'd  know'd  her 
sence  she  was  a  baby.  I  Ve  know'd  this  one  sence  she  was 
two  or  three  year  old ;  but  this  gal  ain't  Myrtle  Hazard  no 
longer,  —  she  's  bewitched  into  somethin'  different.  I  '11 
tell  ye  what,  Mr.  Gridley;  you  get  old  Dr.  Hulburttocome 
and  see  her  once  a  day  for  a  week,  and  get  the  young  doc 
tor  to  stay  away.  I  '11  resk  it.  She  '11  have  some  dreadful 
tantrums  at  fust,  but  she  '11  come  to  it  in  two  or  three 
days." 

Master  Byles  Gridley  groaned  in  spirit.  He  had  come 
to  this  village  to  end  his  days  in  peace,  and  here  he  was 
just  going  to  make  a  martyr  of  himself  for  the  sake  of  a 
young  person  to  whom  he  was  under  no  obligation,  except 
that  he  had  saved  her  from  the  consequences  of  her  own 
foolish  act,  at  the  expense  of  a  great  overturn  of  all  his 
domestic  habits.  There  was  no  help  for  it.  The  nurse 
was  right,  and  he  must  perform  the  disagreeable  duty  of 


138  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

letting  the  Doctor  know  that  he  was  getting  into  a  track 
which  might  very  probably  lead  to  mischief,  and  that  he 
must  back  out  as  fast  as  he  could. 

At  2  P.  M.  Gifted  Hopkins  presented  the  following  note 
at  the  Doctor's  door :  — 

"Mr.  Byles  Gridley  would  be  much  obliged  to  Dr. 
Fordyce  Hurlbut  if  he  would  call  at  his  study  this  even 
ing." 

"  Odd,  is  n't  it,  father,  the  old  man's  asking  me  to  come 
and  see  him?  Those  old  stub-twist  constitutions  never 
want  patching." 

"  Old  man  !  old  man  !  Who  's  that  you  call  old,  —  not 
Byles  Gridley,  hey  ?  Old !  old !  Sixty  year,  more  or 
less!  How  old  was  Floyer  when  he  died,  Fordyce? 
Ninety-odd,  was  n't  it  ?  Had  the  asthma  though,  or  he  'd 
have  lived  to  be  as  old  as  Dr.  Holyoke,  —  a  hundred  year 
and  over.  That 's  old.  But  men  live  to  be  a  good  deal 
more  than  that  sometimes.  What  does  Byles  Gridley  want 
of  you,  did  you  say  ?  " 

"  I  'm  sure  I  can't  tell,  father ;  I  '11  go  and  find  out." 
So  he  went  over  to  Mrs.  Hopkins's  in  the  evening,  and  was 
shown  up  into  the  study. 

Master  Gridley  treated  the  Doctor  to  a  cup  of  such  tea 
as  bachelors  sometimes  keep  hid  away  in  mysterious  cad 
dies.  He  presently  began  asking  certain  questions  about 
the  grand  climacteric,  which  eventful  period  of  life  he  was 
fast  approaching.  Then  he  discoursed  of  medicine,  ancient 
and  modern,  tasking  the  Doctor's  knowledge  not  a  little, 
and  evincing  a  good  deal  of  acquaintance  with  old  doctrines 
and  authors.  He  had  a  few  curious  old  medical  books  in 
his  library,  which  he  said  he  should  like  to  show  Dr. 
Hurlbut. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  139 

"  There,  now  !  What  do  you  say  to  this  copy  of  Joan 
nes  de  Ketam,  Venice,  1522?  Look  at  these  woodcuts, — 
the  first  anatomical  pictures  ever  printed,  Doctor,  unless 
these  others  of  Jacobus  Berengarius  are  older !  See  this 
scene  of  the  plague-patient,  the  doctor  smelling  at  his 
pouncet-box,  the  old  nurse  standing  square  at  the  bedside, 
the  young  nurse  with  the  bowl,  holding  back  and  turning 
her  head  away,  and  the  old  burial-hag  behind  her,  shoving 
her  forward, — a  very  curious  book,  Doctor,  and  has  the 
first  phrenological  picture  in  it  ever  made.  Take  a  look, 
too,  at  my  Vesalius,  —  not  the  Leyden  edition,  Doctor,  but 
the  one  with  the  grand  old  original  figures,  —  so  good  that 
they  laid  them  to  Titian.  And  look  here,  Doctor,  I  could 
n't  help  getting  this  great  folio  Albinus,  1747,  —  and  the 
nineteenth  century  can't  touch  it,  Doctor,  —  can't  touch  it 
for  completeness  and  magnificence,  —  so  all  the  learned 
professors  tell  me  !  Brave  old  fellows,  Doctor,  and  put 
their  lives  into  their  books  as  you  gentlemen  don't  pretend 
to  do  now-a-days.  And  good  old  fellows,  Doctor,  —  high- 
minded,  scrupulous,  conscientious,  punctilious,  —  remem 
bered  their  duties  to  man  and  to  woman,  and  felt  all  the 
responsibilities  of  their  confidential  relation  to  families. 
Did  you  ever  read  the  oldest  of  medical  documents,  —  the 
Oath  of  Hippocrates  ?  " 

The  Doctor  thought  he  had  read  it,  but  did  not  remem 
ber  much  about  it. 

"  It 's  worth  reading,  Doctor,  —  it 's  worth  remembering  ; 
and,  old  as  it  is,  it  is  just  as  good  to-day  as  it  was  when  it 
was  laid  down  as  a  rule  of  conduct  four  hundred  years 
before  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  was  delivered.  Let  me 
read  it  to  you,  Dr.  Hurlbut." 

There  was  something  in  Master  Gridley's  look  that  made 


140  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  Doctor  feel  a  little  nervous ;  he  did  not  know  just  what 
was  corning. 

Master  Gridley  took  out  his  great  Hippocrates,  the 
edition  of  Foesius,  and  opened  to  the  place.  He  turned 
so  as  to  face  the  Doctor,  and  read  the  famous  Oath  aloud, 
Englishing  it  as  he  went  along.  When  he  came  to  these 
words  which  follow,  he  pronounced  them  very  slowly  and 
with  special  emphasis. 

"  My  life  shall  be  pure  and  holy." 

"  Into  whatever  house  I  enter,  I  will  go  for  the  good  of  the 
patient:  I  ivill  abstain  from  injlicting  any  voluntary  injury, 
and  from  leading  away  any,  whether  man  or  woman,  bond 
or  freer 

The  Doctor  changed  color  as  he  listened,  and  the  moist 
ure  broke  out  on  his  forehead. 

Master  Gridley  saw  it,  and  followed  up  his  advantage. 
"  Dr.  Fordyce  Hurlbut,  are  you  not  in  danger  of  violating 
the  sanctities  of  your  honorable  calling,  and  leading  astray 
a  young  person  committed  to  your  sacred  keeping?" 

While  saying  these  words,  Master  Gridley  looked  full 
upon  him,  with  a  face  so  charged  with  grave  meaning,  so 
impressed  with  the  gravity  of  his  warning  accents,  that 
the  Doctor  felt  as  if  he  were  before  some  dread  tribunal, 
and  remained  silent.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Stoker's  church,  and  the  words  he  had  just  listened  to  were 
those  of  a  sinful  old  heathen  who  had  never  heard  a  ser 
mon  in  his  life  ;  but  they  stung  him,  for  all  that,  as  the 
parable  of  the  prophet  stung  the  royal  transgressor. 

He  spoke  at  length,  for  the  plain  honest  words  had 
touched  the  right  spring  of  consciousness  at  the  right  mo 
ment  ;  not  too  early,  for  he  now  saw  whither  he  was  tend 
ing,  —  not  too  late,  for  he  was  not  yet  in  the  inner  spirals 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  141 

of  the  passion  which  whirls  men  and  women  to  their  doom 
in  ever-narrowing  coils,  that  will  not  unwind  at  the  com 
mand  of  God  or  man. 

He  spoke  as  one  who  is  humbled  by  self-accusation,  yet 
in  a  manly  way,  as  became  his  honorable  and  truthful 
character. 

"  Master  Gridley,"  he  said,  "  I  stand  convicted  before 
you.  I  know  too  well  what  you  are  thinking  of.  It  is 
true,  I  cannot  continue  my  attendance  on  Myrtle  —  on 
Miss  Hazard,  for  you  mean  her  —  without  peril  to  both  of 
us.  She  is  not  herself.  God  forbid  that  I  should  cease  to 
be  myself!  1  have  been  thinking  of  a  summer  tour,  and  I 
will  at  once  set  out  upon  it,  and  leave  this  patient  in  my 
father's  hands.  I  think  he  will  find  strength  to  visit  her 
under  the  circumstances." 

The  Doctor  went  off  the  next  morning  without  saying  a 
word  to  Myrtle  Hazard,  and  his  father  made  the  customary 
visit  in  his  place. 

That  night  the  spirit  tare  her,  as  may  well  be  supposed, 
and  so  the  second  night.  But  there  was  no  help  for  it : 
her  doctor  was  gone,  and  the  old  physician,  with  great 
effort,  came  instead,  sat  by  her,  spoke  kindly  to  her,  left 
wise  directions  to  her  attendants,  and  above  all  assured 
them  that,  if  they  would  have  a  little  patience,  they  would 
see  all  this  storm  blow  over. 

On  the  third  night  after  his  visit,  the  spirit  rent  her  sore, 
and  came  out  of  her,  or,  in  the  phrase  of  to-day,  she  had  a 
fierce  paroxysm,  after  which  the  violence  of  the  conflict 
ceased,  and  she  might  be  called  convalescent  so  far  as  that 
was  concerned. 

But  all  this  series  of  nervous  disturbances  left  her  in  a 
very  impressible  and  excitable  condition.  This  was  just  the 


142  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

state  to  invite  the  spiritual  manipulations  of  one  of  those 
theological  practitioners  who  consider  that  the  treatment 
of  all  morbid  states  of  mind  short  of  raving  madness  be 
longs  to  them  and  not  to  the  doctors.  This  same  condition 
was  equally  favorable  for  the  operations  of  any  professional 
experimenter  who  would  use  the  flame  of  religious  excite 
ment  to  light  the  torch  of  an  earthly  passion.  So  many 
fingers  that  begin  on  the  black  keys  stray  to  the  white  ones 
before  the  tune  is  played  out ! 

If  Myrtle  Hazard  was  in  charge  of  any  angelic  guardian, 
the  time  was  at  hand  when  she  would  need  all  celestial  in 
fluences  ;  for  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker  was  about 
to  take  a  deep  interest  in  her  spiritual  welfare. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  143 

CHAPTER    XII. 

SKIRMISHING. 

the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker  has  called  upon 
you,  Susan  Posey,  has  he  ?  And  wants  you  to  come 
and  talk  religion  with  him  in  his  study,  Susan  Posey,  does 
he  ?  Religion  is  a  good  thing,  my  dear,  the  best  thing  in 
the  world,  and  never  better  than  when  we  are  young,  and 
no  young  people  need  it  more  than  young  girls.  There 
are  temptations  to  all,  and  to  them  as  often  as  to  any,  Susan 
Posey.  And  temptations  come  to  them  in  places  where 
they  don't  look  for  them,  and  from  persons  they  never 
thought  of  as  tempters.  So  I  am  very  glad  to  have  your 
thoughts  called  to  the  subject  of  religion.  (  Remember  thy 
Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth.' 

"  But  Susan  Posey,  my  dear,  I  think  you  had  better  not 
break  in  upon  the  pious  meditations  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Bellamy  Stoker  in  his  private  study.  A  monk's  cell  and 
a  minister's  library  are  hardly  the  places  for  young  ladies. 
They  distract  the  attention  of  these  good  men  from  their 
devotions  and  their  sermons.  If  you  think  you  must  go, 
you  had  better  take  Mrs.  Hopkins  with  you.  She  likes 
religious  conversation,  and  it  will  do  her  good  too,  and  save 
a  great  deal  of  time  for  the  minister,  conversing  with  two 
at  once.  She  is  of  discreet  age,  and  will  tell  you  when  it 
is  time  to  come  away,  —  you  might  stay  too  long,  you  know. 
I  've  known  young  persons  stay  a  good  deal  too  long  at  these 
interviews,  —  a  great  deal  too  long,  Susan  Posey  !  " 

Such  was  the  fatherly  counsel  of  Master  Byles  Gridley. 


144  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Susan  was  not  very  quick  of  apprehension,  but  she  could 
not  help  seeing  the  justice  of  Master  Gridlcy's  remark,  that 
for  a  young  person  to  go  and  break  in  on  the  hours  that  a 
minister  requires  for  his  studies,  without  being  accompanied 
by  a  mature  friend  who  would  remind  her  when  it  was  time 
to  go,  would  be  taking  an  unfair  advantage  of  his  kindness 
in  asking  her  to  call  upon  him.  She  promised,  therefore, 
that  she  would  never  go  without  having  Mrs.  Hopkins  as 
her  companion,  and  with  this  assurance  her  old  friend  rest 
ed  satisfied. 

It  is  altogether  likely  that  he  had  some  deeper  reason 
for  his  advice  than  those  with  which  he  satisfied  the  simple 
nature  of  Susan  Posey.  Of  that  it  will  be  easier  to  judge 
after  a  glance  at  the  conditions  and  character  of  the  minis 
ter  and  his  household. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  had,  in  addition  to  the  personal 
ad\7antages  already  alluded  to,  some  other  qualities  wljicr 
might  prove  attractive  to  many  women.  He  had,  in  par 
ticular,  that  art  of  sliding  into  easy  intimacy  with  them 
which  implies  some  knowledge  of  the  female  nature,  and, 
above  all,  confidence  in  one's  powers.  There  was  little 
doubt,  the  gossips  maintained,  that  many  of  the  younger 
•  women  of  his  parish  would  have  been  willing,  in  certain 
contingencies,  to  lift  for  him  that  other  end  of  his  yoke 
under  which  poor  Mrs.  Stoker  was  fainting,  unequal  to  the 
burden. 

That  lady  must  have  been  some  years  older  than  her 
husband,  —  how  many  we  need  not  inquire  too  curiously, 
—  but  in  vitality  she  had  long  passed  the  prime  in  which 
lie  was  still  flourishing.  She  had  borne  him  five  children, 
and  cried  her  eyes  hollow  over  the  graves  of  three  of  them. 
Household  cares  had  dragged  upon  her ;  the  routine  of  vil 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  145 

lage  life  wearied  her  ;  the  parishioners  expected  too  much 
of  her  as  the  minister's  wife ;  she  had  wanted  more  fresh 
air  and  more  cheerful  companionship ;  and  her  thoughts 
had  fed  too  much  on  death  and  sin,  —  good  bitter  tonics  to 
increase  the  appetite  for  virtue,  but  not  good  as  food  and 
drink  for  the  spirit. 

But  there  was  another  grief  which  lay  hidden  far  beneath 
these  obvious  depressing  influences.  She  felt  that  she  was 
no  longer  to  her  husband  what  she  had  been  to  him,  and 
felt  it  with  something  of  self-reproach,  —  which  was  a 
wrong  to  herself,  for  she  had  been  a  true  and  tender  wife. 
Deeper  than  all  the  rest  was  still  another  feeling,  which 
had  hardly  risen  into  the  region  of  inwardly  articulated 
thought,  but  lay  unshaped  beneath  all  the  syllabled  trains 
of  sleeping  or  waking  consciousness. 

The  minister  was  often  consulted  by  his  parishioners  upon 
spiritual  matters,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  receiving  in  his 
study  visitors  who  came  with  such  intent.  Sometimes  it 
was  old  weak-eyed  Deacon  Rumrill,  in  great  iron-bowed 
spectacles,  with  hanging  nether  lip  and  tremulous  voice, 
who  had  got  his  brain  into  a  muddle  about  the  beast  with 
two  horns,  or  the  woman  that  fled  into  the  wilderness,  or 
other  points  not  settled  to  his  mind  in  Scott's  Commentary. 
The  minister  was  always  very  busy  at  such  times,  and 
made  short  work  of  his  deacon's  doubts.  Or  it  might  be  that 
an  ancient  woman,  a  mother  or  a  grandmother  in  Israel, 
came  with  her  questions  and  her  perplexities  to  her  pas 
tor  ;  and  it  was  pretty  certain  that  just  at  that  moment  he 
was  very  deep  in  his  next  sermon,  or  had  a  pressing  visit 
to  make. 

But  it  would  also  happen  occasionally  that  one  of  the 
tenderer  ewe-lambs  of  the  flock  needed  comfort  from  the 
7  j 


146  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

presence  of  the  shepherd.  Poor  Mrs.  Stoker  noticed,  or 
thought  she  noticed,  that  the  good  man  had  more  leisure 
for  the  youthful  and  blooming  sister  than  for  the  more  dis 
creet  and  venerable  matron  or  spinster.  The  sitting  was 
apt  to  be  longer ;  and  the  worthy  pastor  would  often  lin 
ger  awhile  about  the  door,  to  speed  the  parting  guest, 
perhaps,  but  a  little  too  much  after  the  fashion  of  young 
people  who  are  not  displeased  with  each  other,  and  who 
often  find  it  as  hard  to  cross  a  threshold  single  as  a  witch 
finds  it  to  get  over  a  running  stream.  More  than  once, 
the  pallid,  faded  wife  had  made  an  errand  to  the  study, 
and,  after  a  keen  look  at  the  bright  young  cheeks,  flushed 
with  the  excitement  of  intimate  spiritual  communion,  had 
gone  back  to  her  chamber  with  her  hand  pressed  against 
her  heart,  and  the  bitterness  of  death  in  her  soul. 

The  end  of  all  these  bodily  and  mental  trials  was,  that 
the  minister's  wife  had  fallen  into  a  state  of  habitual  inva- 
lidism,  such  as  only  women,  who  feel  all  the  nerves  which 
in  men  are  as  insensible  as  telegraph-wires,  can  experience. 

The  doctor  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  her  case,  — 
whether  she  would  live  or  die,  —  whether  she  would  lan 
guish  for  years,  or,  all  at  once,  roused  by  some  strong  im 
pression,  or  in  obedience  to  some  unexplained  movement 
of  the  vital  forces,  take  up  her  bed  and  walk.  For  her 
bed  had  become  her  home,  where  she  lived  as  if  it  belonged 
to  her  organism.  There  she  lay,  a  not  unpleasing  invalid 
to  contemplate,  always  looking  resigned,  patient,  serene, 
except  when  the  one  deeper  grief  was  stirred,  always 
arrayed  with  simple  neatness,  and  surrounded  with  little 
tokens  that  showed  the  constant  presence  with  her  of 
tasteful  and  thoughtful  affection.  She  did  not  know,  no 
body  could  know,  how  steadily,  how  silently,  all  this  arti- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  147 

ficial  life  was  draining  the  veins  and  blanching  the  cheek 
of  her  daughter  Bathsheba,  one  of  the  e very-day,  air- 
breathing  angels  without  nimbus  or  aureole  who  belong  to 
every  story  which  lets  us  into  a  few  households,  as  much 
as  the  stars  and  the  flowers  belong  to  everybody's  verses. 

Bathsheba's  devotion  to  her  mother  brought  its  own 
reward,  but  it  was  not  in  the  shape  of  outward  commenda 
tion.  Some  of  the  more  censorious  members  of  her 
father's  congregation  were  severe  in  their  remarks  upon 
her  absorption  in  the  supreme  object  of  her  care.  It 
seems  that  this  had  prevented  her  from  attending  to  other 
duties  which  they  considered  more  imperative.  They  did 
n  't  see  why  she  should  n't  keep  a  Sabbath  school  as  well 
as  the  rest,  and  as  to  her  not  comin'  to  meetin'  three  times 
on  Sabbath  day  like  other  folks,  they  could  n't  account  for 
it,  except  because  she  calculated  that  she  could  get  along 
without  the  means  of  grace,  bein'  a  minister's  daughter. 
Some  went  so  far.  as  to  doubt  if  she  had  ever  experienced 
religion,  for  all  she  was  a  professor.  There  was  a  good 
many  indulged  a  false  hope.  To  this,  others  objected  her 
life  of  utter  self-denial  and  entire  surrender  to  her  duties 
towards  her  mother  as  some  evidence  of  Christian  character. 
But  old  Deacon  Rumrill  put  down  that  heresy  by  show 
ing  conclusively  from  Scott's  Commentary  on  Romans  xi. 
1-6,  that  this  was  altogether  against  her  chance  of  being 
called,  and  that  the  better  her  disposition  to  perform  good 
works,  the  more  unlikely  she  was  to  be  the  subject  of 
saving  grace.  Some  of  these  severe  critics  were  good 
people  enough  themselves,  but  they  loved  active  work 
and  stirring  companionship,  and  would  have  found  their 
real  cross  if  they  had  been  called  to  sit  at  an  invalid's 
bedside. 


148  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

As  for  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker,  his  duties  did  not  allow 
him  to  give  so  much  time  to  his  suffering  wife  as  his 
feelings  would  undoubtedly  have  prompted.  He  there 
fore  relinquished  the  care  of  her  (with  great  reluctance, 
we  may  naturally  suppose)  to  Bathsheba,  who  had  in 
herited  not  only  her  mother's  youthful  smile,  but  that 
self-forgetfulness  which,  born  with  some  of  God's  crea 
tures,  is,  if  not  "  grace,"  at  least  a  manifestation  of  native 
depravity  which  might  well  be  mistaken  for  it. 

The  intimacy  of  mother  and  daughter  was  complete, 
except  on  a  single  point.  There  was  one  subject  on 
which  no  word  ever  passed  between  them.  The  ex 
cuse  of  duties  to  others  was  by  a  tacit  understanding  a 
mantle  to  cover  all  short-comings  in  the  way  of  attention 
from  the  husband  and  father,  and  no  word  ever  passed 
between  them  implying  a  suspicion  of  the  loyalty  of  his 
affections.  Bathsheba  came  at  last  so  to  fill  with  her 
tenderness  the  space  left  empty  in  the,  neglected  heart, 
that  her  mother  only  spoke  her  habitual  feeling  when  she 
said,  "  I  should  think  you  were  in  love  with  me,  my  dar 
ling,  if  you  were  not  my  daughter." 

This  was  a  dangerous  state  of  things  for  the  minister. 
Strange  suggestions  and  unsafe  speculations  began  to  min 
gle  with  his  dreams  and  reveries.  The  thought  once  ad 
mitted  that  another's  life  is  becoming  superfluous  and  a  bur 
den,  feeds  like  a  ravenous  vulture  on  the  soul.  Woe  to  the 
man  or  woman  whose  days  are  passed  in  watching  the 
hour-glass  through  which  the  sands  run  too  slowly  for 
longings  that  are  like  a  skulking  procession  of  bloodless 
murders !  Without  affirming  such  horrors  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Stoker,  it  would  not  be  libellous  to  say  that  his  fancy 
was  tampering  with  future  possibilities,  as  it  constantly 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  149 

happens  with  those  who  are  getting  themselves  into  train 
ing  for  some  act  of  folly,  or  some  crime,  it  may  be,  which 
will  in  its  own  time  evolve  itself  as  an  idea  in  the  conscious 
ness,  and  by  and  by  ripen  into  fact. 

It  must  not  be  taken  for  granted  that  he  was  actually 
on  the  road  to  some  fearful  deed,  or  that  he  was  an  utterly 
lost  soul.  He  was  ready  to  yield  to  temptation  if  it  came 
in  his  way ;  he  would  even  court  it,  but  he  did  not  shape 
out  any  plan  very  definitely  in  his  mind,  as  a  more  des 
perate  sinner  would  have  done.  He  liked  the  pleasur 
able  excitement  of  emotional  relations  with  his  pretty 
lambs,  and  enjoyed  it  under  the  name  of  religious  commun 
ion.  There  is  a  border  land  where  one  can  stand  on 
the  territory  of  legitimate  instincts  and  affections,  and 
yet  be  so  near  the  pleasant  garden  of  the  Adversary, 
that  his  dangerous  fruits  and  flowers  are  within  easy 
reach.  Once  tasted,  the  next  step  is  like  to  be  the  scal 
ing  of  the  wall.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  was  very  fond 
of  this  border  land.  His  imagination  was  wandering  over 
it  too  often  when  his  pen  was  travelling  almost  of  itself 
along  the  weary  parallels  of  the  page  before  him.  All 
at  once  a  blinding  flash  would  come  over  him,  the  lines 
of  his  sermon  would  run  together,  the  fresh  manuscript 
would  shrivel  like  a  dead  leaf,  and  the  rows  of  hard 
hearted  theology  on  the  shelves  before  him,  and  the 
broken-backed  Concordance,  and  the  Holy  Book  itself, 
would  fade  away  as  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  enchant 
ment  of  his  delirious  dream. 

The  reader  will  probably  consider  it  a  discreet  ar 
rangement  that  pretty  Susan  Posey  should  seek  her 
pastor  in  grave  company.  Mrs.  Hopkins  willingly  con 
sented  to  the  arrangement  which  had  been  proposed,  and 


150  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

agreed  to  go  with  the  young  lady  on  her  visit  to  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Sioker's  study.  They  were  both  arrayed  in  their 
field-day  splendors  on  this  occasion.  Susan  was  lovely  in 
her  light  curls  and  blue  ribbons,  and  the  becoming  dress 
which  could  not  help  betraying  the  modestly  emphasized 
crescendos  and  gently  graded  diminuendos  of  her  figure. 
She  was  as  round  as  if  she  had  been  turned  in  a  lathe, 
and  as  delicately  finished  as  if  she  had  been  modelled 
for  a  Flora.  She  had  naturally  an  airy  toss  of  the  head 
and  a  springy  movement  of  the  joints,  such  as  some  girls 
study  in  the  glass  (and  make  dreadful  work  of  it),  so 
that  she  danced  all  over  without  knowing  it,  like  a  little 
lively  bobolink  on  a  bulrush.  In  short,  she  looked  fit  to 
spoil  a  homily  for  Saint  Anthony  himself. 

Mrs.  Hopkins  was  not  less  perfect  in  her  somewhat 
different  style.  She  might  be  called  impressive  and  im 
posing  in  her  grand  costume,  which  she  wore  for  this 
visit.  It  was  a  black  silk  dress,  with  a  crape  shawl,  a 
firmly  defensive  bonnet,  and  an  alpaca  umbrella  with 
a  stern-looking  and  decided  knob  presiding  as  its  handle. 
The  dried-leaf  rustle  of  her  silk  dress  was  suggestive 
of  the  ripe  autumn  of  life,  bringing  with  it  those  golden 
fruits  of  wisdom  and  experience  which  the  grave  teachers 
of  mankind  so  justly  prefer  to  the  idle  blossoms  of  adoles 
cence. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  visit  was  conducted  with 
the  most  perfect  propriety  in  all  respects.  Mrs.  Hopkins 
was  disposed  to  take  upon  herself  a  large  share  of  the 
conversation.  The  minister,  on  the  other  hand,  would 
have  devoted  himself  more  particularly  to  Miss  Susan  ; 
but,  with  a  very  natural  make-believe  obtuseness,  the  good 
woman  drew  his  fire  so  constantly  that  few  of  his  remarks, 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  151 

and  hardly  any  of  his  insinuating  looks,  reached  the  ten 
der  object  at  which  they  were  aimed.  It  is  probable 
that  his  features  or  tones  betrayed  some  impatience  at 
having  thus  been  foiled  of  his  purpose,  for  Mrs.  Hopkins 
thought  he  looked  all  the  time  as  if  he  wanted  to  get  rid 
of  her.  The  three  parted,  therefore,  not  in  the  best 
humor  all  round.  Mrs.  Hopkins  declared  she  'd  see  the 
minister  in  Jericho  before  she  'd  fix  herself  up  as  if  she 
was  goin'  to  a  weddin'  to  go  and  see  him  again.  Why, 
he  did  n't  make  any  more  of  her  than  if  she  'd  been  a 
tabby-cat.  She  believed  some  of  these  ministers  thought 
women's  souls  dried  up  like  peas  in  a  pod  by  the  time 
they  was  forty  year  old  ;  anyhow,  they  did  n't  seem  to 
care  any  great  about  'em,  except  while  they  was  green 
and  tender.  It  was  all  Miss  Se-usan,  Miss  Se-usan,  Miss 
Se-usan,  my  dear !  but  as  for  her,  she  might  jest  as  well 
have  gone  with  her  apron  on,  for  any  notice  he  took  of 
her.  She  did  n't  care,  she  was  n't  goin'  to  be  left  out 
when  there  was  talkin'  goin'  on,  anyhow. 

Susan  Posey,  on  her  part,  said  she  did  n't  like  him  a 
bit.  He  looked  so  sweet  at  her,  and  held  his  head  on  one 
side,  —  law  !  just  as  if  he  had  been  a  young  beau  !  And, 
—  don't  tell,  —  but  he  whispered  that  he  wished  the  next 
time  I  came  I  would  n't  bring  that  Hopkins  woman ! 

It  would  not  be  fair  to  repeat  what  the  minister  said  to 
himself ;  but  we  may  own  as  much  as  this,  that,  if  worthy 
Mrs.  Hopkins  had  heard  it,  she  would  have  treated  him  to 
a  string  of  adjectives  which  would  have  greatly  enlarged 
his  conceptions  of  the  female  vocabulary. 


152  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

BATTLE. 

IN  tracing  the  history  of  a  human  soul  through  its  com 
monplace  nervous  perturbations,  still  more  through  its 
spiritual  humiliations,  there  is  danger  that  we  shall  feel  a 
certain  contempt  for  the  subject  of  such  weakness.  It  is 
easy  to  laugh  at  the  erring  impulses  of  a  young  girl ;  but 

you  who  remember  when ,  only  fifteen  years 

old,  untouched  by  passion,  unsullied  in  name,  was  found  in 
the  shallow  brook  where  she  had  sternly  and  surely  sought 
her  death,  —  (too  true  !  too  true  !  —  ejus  animce  Jesu 
miserere  !  —  but  a  generation  has  passed  since  then,)  — 
will  not  smile  so  scornfully. 

Myrtle  Hazard  no  longer  required  the  physician's  visits, 
but  her  mind  was  very  far  from  being  poised  in  the  just 
balance  of  its  faculties.  She  was  of  a  good  natural  consti 
tution  and  a  fine  temperament ;  but  she  had  been  over 
wrought  by  all  that  she  had  passed  through,  and,  though 
happening  to  have  been  born  in  another  land,  she  was  of 
American  descent.  Now,  it  has  long  been  noticed  that 
there  is  something  in  the  influences,  climatic  or  other,  here 
prevailing,  which  predisposes  to  morbid  religious  excite 
ment.  The  graver  reader  will  not  object  to  seeing  the 
exact  statement  of  a  competent  witness  belonging  to  a 
by-gone  century,  confirmed  as  it  is  by  all  that  we  see 
about  us. 

"  There  is  no  Experienced  Minister  of  the  Gospel  who 
hath  not  in  the  Cases  of  Tempted  Souls  often  had  this  Ex- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  153 

perience,  that  the  ill  Cases  of  their  distempered  Bodies  are 
the  frequent  Occasion  and  Original  of  their  Temptations." 
"  The  Vitiated  Humours  in  many  Persons,  yield  the  Steams 
whereinto  Satan  does  insinuate  himself,  till  he  has  gained 
a  sort  of  Possession  in  them,  or  at  least  an  Opportunity  to 
shoot  into  the  Mind  as  many  Fiery  Darts  as  may  cause  a 
sad  Life  unto  them  ;  yea,  't  is  well  if  Self-Murder  be  not 
the  sad  end  into  which  these  hurred  (?)  People  are  thus 
precipitated.  New  England,  a  country  where  Splenetic 
Maladies  are  prevailing  and  pernicious,  perhaps  above  any 
other,  hath  afforded  Numberless  Instances,  of  even  pious 
People,  who  have  contracted  these  Melancholy  Indisposi 
tions  which  have  unhinged  them  from  all  Service  or  Com 
fort  ;  yea,  not  a  few  Persons  have  been  hurried  thereby  to 
lay  Violent  Hands  upon  themselves  at  the  last.  These  are 
among  the  unsearchable  Judgments  of  God  !  " 
Such  are  the  words  of  the  Rev.  Cotton  Mather. 

The  minister  had  hardly  recovered  from  his  vexatious 
defeat  in  the  skirmish  where  the  Widow  Hopkins  was  his 
principal  opponent,  when  he  received  a  note  from  Miss 
Silence  Withers,  which  promised  another  and  more  impor 
tant  field  of  conflict.  It  contained  a  request  that  he  would 
visit  Myrtle  Hazard,  who  seemed  to  be  in  a  very  excitable 
and  impressible  condition,  and  who  might  perhaps  be  easily 
brought  under  those  influences  which  she  had  resisted 
from  her  early  years,  through  inborn  perversity  of  char 
acter. 

When  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  received  this  note,  he  turned 

very  pale,  —  which  was  a  bad  sign.     Then  he  drew  a  long 

breath  or  two,  and  presently  a  flush  tingled  up  to  his  cheek, 

where  it  remained  a  fixed  burning  glow.     This  may  have 

7  * 


154  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

been  from  the  deep  interest  he  felt  in  Myrtle's  spiritual  wel 
fare  ;  but  he  had  often  been  sent  for  by  aged  sinners  in 
more  immediate  peril,  apparently,  without  any  such  disturb 
ance  of  the  circulation. 

To  know  whether  a  minister,  young  or  still  in  flower,  is 
in  safe  or  dangerous  paths,  there  are  two  psychometers,  a 
comparison  between  which  will  give  as  infallible  a  return 
as  the  dry  and  wet  bulbs  of  the  ingenious  "  Hygrodeik." 
The  first  is  the  black  broadcloth  forming  the  knees  of  his 
pantaloons ;  the  second,  the  patch  of  carpet  before  his 
mirror.  If  the  first  is  unworn  and  the  second  is  frayed 
and  threadbare,  pray  for  him.  If  the  first  is  worn  and 
shiny,  while  the  second  keeps  its  pattern  and  texture,  get 
him  to  pray  for  you. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  should  have  gone  down  on  his 
knees  then  and  there,  and  sought  fervently  for  the  grace 
which  he  was  like  to  need  in  the  dangerous  path  just 
opening  before  him.  He  did  not  do  this  ;  but  he  stood  up 
before  his  looking-glass  and  parted  his  hair  as  carefully  as 
if  he  had  been  separating  the  saints  of  his  congregation 
from  the  sinners,  to  send  the  list  to  the  statistical  columns 
of  a  religious  newspaper.  He  selected  a  professional 
neckcloth,  as  spotlessly  pure  as  if  it  had  been  washed  in 
innocency,  and  adjusted  it  in  a  tie  which  was  like  the 
white  rose  of  Sharon.  Myrtle  Hazard  was,  he  thought, 
on  the  whole,  the  handsomest  girl  he  had  ever  seen  ;  Su 
san  Posey  was  to  her  as  a  buttercup  from  the  meadow  is 
to  a  tiger-lily.  He  knew  the  nature  of  the  nervous 
disturbances  through  which  she  had  been  passing,  and 
that  she  must  be  in  a  singularly  impressible  condition. 
He  felt  sure  that  he  could  establish  intimate  spiritual  re 
lations  with  her  by  drawing  out  her  repressed  sympathies, 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  155 

by  feeding  the  fires  of  her  religious  imagination,  by  exer 
cising  all  those  lesser  arts  of  fascination  which  are  so 
familiar  to  the  Don  Giovannis,  and  not  always  unknown 
to  the  San  Giovannis. 

As  for  the  hard  doctrines  which  he  used  to  produce  sen 
sations  with  in  the  pulpit,  it  would  have  been  a  great  pity 
to  worry  so  lovely  a  girl,  in  such  a  nervous  state,  with 
them.  He  remembered  a  savory  text  about  being  made 
all  things  to  all  men,  which  would  bear  application  par 
ticularly  well  to  the  case  of  this  young  woman.  He  knew 
how  to  weaken  his  divinity,  on  occasion,  as  well  as  an  old 
housewife  to  weaken  her  tea,  lest  it  should  keep  people 
awake. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  was  a  man  of  emotions.  He 
loved  to  feel  his  heart  beat ;  he  loved  all  the  forms  of  non 
alcoholic  drunkenness,  which  are  so  much  better  than  the 
vinous,  because  they  taste  themselves  so  keenly,  whereas 
the  other  (according  to  the  statement  of  experts  who  are 
familiar  with  its  curious  phenomena)  has  a  certain  sense 
of  unreality  connected  with  it.  He  delighted  in  the  re 
flex  stimulus  of  the  excitement  he  produced  in  others  by 
working  on  their  feelings.  A  powerful  preacher  is  open 
to  the  same  sense  of  enjoyment  —  an  awful,  tremulous, 
goose-flesh  sort  of  state,  but  still  enjoyment  —  that  a 
great  tragedian  feels  when  he  curdles  the  blood  of  his 
audience. 

Mr.  Stoker  was  noted  for  the  vividness  of  his  descrip 
tions  of  the  future  which  was  in  store  for  the  great  bulk 
of  his  fellow-townsmen  and  fellow-worldsmen.  He  had 
three  sermons  on  this  subject,  known  to  all  the  country 
round  as  the  sweating  sermon,  the  fainting  sermon,  and 
the  convulsion-Jit  sermon,  from  the  various  effects  said  to 


156  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

have  been  produced  by  them  when  delivered  before  large 
audiences.  It  might  be  supposed  that  his  reputation  as  a 
terrorist  would  have  interfered  with  his  attempts  to  ingra 
tiate  himself  with  his  young  favorites.  But  the  tragedian 
who  is  fearful  as  Richard  or  as  lago  finds  that  no  hin 
drance  to  his  success  in  the  part  of  Romeo.  Indeed, 
women  rather  take  to  terrible  people  ;  prize-fighters,  pi 
rates,  highwaymen,  rebel  generals,  Grand  Turks,  and 
Bluebeards  generally  have  a  fascination  for  the  sex  ;  your 
virgin  has  a  natural  instinct  to  saddle  your  lion.  The  fact, 
therefore,  that  the  young  girl  had  sat  under  his  tremen 
dous  pulpitings,  through  the  sweating  sermon,  the  fainting 
sermon,  and  the  convulsion-fit  sermon,  did  not  secure  her 
against  the  influence  of  his  milder  approaches. 

Myrtle  was  naturally  surprised  at  receiving  a  visit  from 
him ;  but  she  was  in  just  that  unbalanced  state  in  which 
almost  any  impression  is  welcome.  He  showed  so  much 
interest,  first  in  her  health,  then  in  her  thoughts  and  feel 
ings,  always  following  her  lead  in  the  conversation,  that 
before  he  left  her  she  felt  as  if  she  had  made  a  great  discov 
ery  ;  namely,  that  this  man,  so  formidable  behind  the  guns 
of  his  wooden  bastion,  was  a  most  tender-hearted  and  sym 
pathizing  person  when  he  came  out  of  it  unarmed.  How 
delightful  he  was  as  he  sat  talking  in  the  twilight  in  low 
and  tender  tones,  with  respectful  pauses  of  listening,  in 
which  he  looked  as  if  he  too  had  just  made  a  discovery,  — 
of  an  angel,  to  wit,  to  whom  he  could  not  help  unbosoming 
his  tenderest  emotions,  as  to  a  being  from  another  sphere  ! 

It  was  a  new  experience  to  Myrtle.  She  was  all  ready 
for  the  spiritual  manipulations  of  an  expert.  The  excita 
bility  which  had  been  showing  itself  in  spasms  and  strange 
paroxysms  had  been  transferred  to  those  nervous  centre*, 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  157 

whatever  they  may  be,  cerebral  or  ganglionic,  which  are 
concerned  in  the  emotional  movements  of  the  religious 
nature.  It  was  taking  her  at  an  unfair  disadvantage,  no 
doubt.  In  the  old  communion,  some  priest  might  have 
wrought  upon  her  while  in  this  condition,  and  we  might 
have  had  at  this  very  moment  among  us  another  Saint 
Theresa  or  Jacqueline  Pascal.  She  found  but  a  danger 
ous  substitute  in  the  spiritual  companionship  of  a  saint  like 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker. 

People  think  the  confessional  is  unknown  in  our  Prot 
estant  churches.  It  is  a  great  mistake.  The  principal 
change  is,  that  there  is  no  screen  between  the  penitent  and 
the  father  confessor.  The  minister  knew  his  rights,  and 
very  soon  asserted  them.  He  gave  Aunt  Silence  to  un 
derstand  that  he  could  talk  more  at  ease  if  he  and  his 
young  disciple  were  left  alone  together.  Cynthia  Badlani 
did  not  like  this  arrangement.  She  was  afraid  to  speak 
about  it ;  but  she  glared  at  them  aslant,  with  the  look  of 
a  biting  horse  when  his  eyes  follow  one  sideways  until 
they  are  all  white  but  one  little  vicious  spark  of  pupil. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  had 
established  pretty  intimate  relations  with  the  household  at 
The  Poplars.  He  had  reason  to  think,  he  assured  Miss 
Silence,  that  Myrtle  was  in  a  state  of  mind  which  prom 
ised  a  complete  transformation  of  her  character.  He  used 
the  phrases  of  his  sect,  of  course,  in  talking  with  the  elder 
ly  lady  ;  but  the  language  which  he  employed  with  the 
young  girl  was  free  from  those  mechanical  expressions 
which  would  have  been  like  to  offend  or  disgust  her. 

As  to  his  rougher  formulas,  he  knew  better  than  to  ap 
ply  them  to  a  creature  of  her  fine  texture.  If  he  had 
been  disposed  to  do  so,  her  simple  questions  and  answers 


158  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

to  his  inquiries  would  have  made  it  difficult.  But  it  was 
in  her  bright  and  beautiful  eyes,  in  her  handsome  features, 
and  her  winning  voice,  that  he  found  his  chief  obstacle. 
How  could  he  look  upon  her  face  in  its  loveliness,  and 
talk  to  her  as  if  she  must  be  under  the  wrath  and  curse 
of  God  for  the  mere  fact  of  her  existence  ?  It  seemed 
more  natural,  and  it  certainly  was  more  entertaining,  to 
question  her  in  such  a  way  as  to  find  out  what  kind  of 
theology  had  grown  up  in  her  mind  as  the  result  of  her 
training  in  the  complex  scheme  of  his  doctrinal  school. 
And  as  he  knew  that  the  merest  child,  so  soon  as  it  begins 
to  think  at  all,  works  out  for  itself  something  like  a  theory 
of  human  nature,  he  pretty  soon  began  sounding  Myrtle's 
thoughts  on  this  matter. 

What  was  her  own  idea,  he  would  be  pleased  to  know, 
about  her  natural  condition  as  one  born  of  a  sinful  race, 
and  her  inherited  liabilities  on  that  account  ? 

Myrtle  smiled  like  a  little  heathen,  as  she  was,  accord 
ing  to  the  standard  of  her  earlier  teachings.  That  kind 
of  talk  used  to  worry  her  when  she  was  a  child,  sometimes. 
Yas,  she  remembered  its  coming  back  to  her  in  a  dream 
she  had,  when  —  when  —  (She  did  not  finish  her  sen 
tence.)  Did  he  think  she  hated  every  kind  of  goodness 
and  loved  every  kind  of  evil?  Did  he  think  she  was 
hateful  to  the  Being  who  made  her  ? 

The  minister  looked  straight  into  the  bright,  brave,  ten 
der  eyes,  and  answered,  "  Nothing  in  heaven  or  on  earth 
could  help  loving  you,  Myrtle  !  " 

Pretty  well  for  a  beginning  ! 

Myrtle  saw  nothing  but  pious  fervor  in  this  florid  sen 
timent.  But  as  she  was  honest  and  clear-sighted,  she 
could  not  accept  a  statement  which  seemed  so  plainly  in 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  159 

contradiction  with  his  common  teachings,  without  bringing 
his  flattering  assertion  to  the  test  of  another  question. 

Did  he  suppose,  she  asked,  that  any  persons  could  be 
Christians,  who  could  not  tell  the  day  or  the  year  of  their 
change  from  children  of  darkness  to  children  of  light. 

The  shrewd  clergyman,  whose  creed  could  be  lax  enough 
on  occasion,  had  provided  himself  with  authorities  of  all 
kinds  to  meet  .these  awkward  questions  in  casuistical  di 
vinity.  He  had  hunted  up  recipes  for  spiritual  neuralgia, 
spasms,  indigestion,  psora,  hypochondriasis,  just  as  doctors 
do  for  their  bodily  counterparts. 

To  be  sure  they  could.  Why,  what  did  the  great  Rich 
ard  Baxter  say  in  his  book  on  Infant  Baptism  ?  That  at 
a  meeting  of  many  eminent  Christians,  some  of  them,  very 
famous  ministers,  when  it  was  desired  that  every  one 
should  give  an  account  of  the  time  and  manner  of  his 
conversion,  there  was  but  one  of  them  all  could  do  it. 
And  as  for  himself,  Mr.  Baxter  said,  he  could  not  remem 
ber  the  day  or  the  year  when  he  began  to  be  sincere,  as 
he  called  it.  Why,  did  n't  President  Wheelock  say  to  a 
young  man  who  consulted  him,  that  some  persons  might 
be  true  Christians  without  suspecting  it  ? 

All  this  was  so  very  different  from  the  uncompromising 
way  in  which  religious  doctrines  used  to  be  presented  to 
the  young  girl  from  the  pulpit,  that  it  naturally  opened  her 
heart  and  warmed  her  affections.  Remember,  if  she  needs 
excuse,  that  the  defeated  instincts  of  a  strong  nature  were 
rushing  in  upon  her,  clamorous  for  their  rights,  and  that 
she  was  not  yet  mature  enough  to  understand  and  manage 
them.  The  paths  of  love  and  religion  are  at  the  fork  of 
a  road  which  every  maiden  travels.  If  some  young  hand 
does  not  open  the  turnpike  gate  of  the  first,  she  is  pretty 


1GO  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

sure  to  try  the  other,  which  has  no  toll-bar.  It  is  also 
very  commonly  noticed  that  these  two  paths,  after  diverg 
ing  awhile,  run  into  each  other.  True  love  leads  many 
wandering  souls  into  the  better  way.  Nor  is  it  rare  to  see 
those  who  started  in  company  for  the  gates  of  pearl  seated 
together  on  the  banks  that  border  the  avenue  to  that  other 
portal,  gathering  the  roses  for  which  it  is  so  famous. 

It  was  with  the  most  curious  interest  that  the  minister 
listened  to  the  various  heresies  into  which  her  reflections 
had  led  her.  Somehow  or  other  they  did  not  sound  so 
dangerous  coming  from  her  lips  as  when  they  were  uttered 
by  the  coarser  people  of  the  less  rigorous  denominations, 
or  preached  in  the  sermons  of  heretical  clergymen.  He 
found  it  impossible  to  think  of  her  in  connection  with 
those  denunciations  of  sinners  for  which  his  discourses  had 
been  noted.  Some  of  the  sharp  old  church-members  be 
gan  to  complain  that  his  exhortations  were  losing  their 
pungency.  The  truth  was,  he  was  preaching  for  Myrtle 
Hazard.  He  Avas  getting  bewitched  and  driven  beside 
himself  by  the  intoxication  of  his  relations  with  her. 

All  this  time  she  was  utterly  unconscious  of  any  charm 
that  she  was  exercising,  or  of  being  herself  subject  to  any 
personal  fascination.  She  loved  to  read  the  books  of  ec 
static  contemplation  which  he  furnished  her.  She  loved  to 
sing  the  languishing  hymns  which  he  selected  for  her.  She 
loved  to  listen  to  his  devotional  rhapsodies,  hardly  know 
ing  sometimes  whether  she  were  in  the  body,  or  out  of 
the  body,  while  he  lifted  her  upon  the  wings  of  his  passion- 
kindled  rhetoric.  The  time  came  when  she  had  learned 
to  listen  for  his  step,  when  her  eyes  glistened  at  meeting 
him,  when  the  words  he  uttered  were  treasured  as  from 
something  more  than  a  common  mortal,  and  the  book  he 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  161 

had  touched  was  like  a  saintly  relic.  It  never  suggested 
itself  to  her  for  an  instant  that  this  was  anything  more 
than  such  a  friendship  as  Mercy  might  have  cultivated 
with  Great-Heart.  She  gave  her  confidence  simply  be 
cause  she  was  very  young  and  innocent.  The  green 
tendrils  of  the  growing  vine  must  wind  round  some 
thing. 

The  seasons  had  been  changing  their  scenery  while  the 
events  we  have  told  were  occurring,  and  the  loveliest  days 
of  autumn  were  now  shining.  To  those  who  know  the 
"Indian  summer"  of  our  Northern  States,  it  is  needless 
to  describe  the  influence  it  exerts  on  the  senses  and  the 
soul.  The  stillness  of  the  landscape  in  that  beautiful 
time  is  as  if  the  planet  were  sleeping,  like  a  top,  before 
it  begins  to  rock  with  the  storms  of  autumn.  All  natures 
seem  to  find  themselves  more  truly  in  its  light ;  love 
grows  more  tender,  religion  more  spiritual,  memory  sees 
farther  back  into  the  past,  grief  revisits  its  mossy  marbles, 
the  poet  harvests  the  ripe  thoughts  which  he  will  tie  in 
sheaves  of  verses  by  his  winter  fireside. 

The  minister  had  got  into  the  way  of  taking  frequent 
walks  with  Myrtle,  whose  health  had  seemed  to  require 
the  open  air,  and  who  was  fast  regaining  her  natural  look. 
Under  the  canopy  of  the  scarlet,  orange,  and  crimson 
leaved  maples,  of  the  purple  and  violet  clad  oaks,  of  the 
birches  in  their  robes  of  sunshine,  and  the  beeches  in  their 
clinging  drapery  of  sober  brown,  they  walked  together 
while  he  discoursed  of  the  joys  of  heaven,  the  sweet  com 
munion  of  kindred  souls,  the  ineffable  bliss  of  a  world  where 
love  would  be  immortal  and  beauty  should  never  know 
decay.  And  while  she  listened,  the  strange  light  of  the 
loaves  irradiated  the  youthful  figure  of  Myrtle,  as  when 


162  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  stained  window  let  in  its  colors  on  Madeline,  the  rose- 
bloom  and  the  amethyst  and  the  glory. 

"  Yes !  we  shall  be  angels  together,"  exclaimed  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Stoker.  "  Our  souls  were  made  for  immortal 
union.  I  know  it ;  I  feel  it  in  every  throb  of  my  heart. 
Even  in  this  world  you  are  as  an  angel  to  me,  lifting 
me  into  the  heaven  where  I  shall  meet  you  again,  or  it 
will  not  be  heaven.  O,  if  on  earth  our  communion  could 
have  been  such  as  it  must  be  hereafter !  O  Myrtle, 
Myrtle !  " 

He  stretched  out  his  hands  as  if  to  clasp  hers  between 
them  in  the  rapture  of  his  devotion.  Was  it  the  light 
reflected  from  the  glossy  leaves  of  the  poison  sumach 
which  overhung  the  path  that  made  his  cheek  look  so 
pale  ?  Was  he  going  to  kneel  to  her  ? 

Myrtle  turned  her  dark  eyes  on  him  with  a  simple 
wonder  that  saw  an  excess  of  saintly  ardor  in  these  demon 
strations,  and  drew  back  from  it. 

"  I  think  of  heaven  always  as  the  place  where  I  shall 
meet  my  mother,"  she  said  calmly. 

These  words  recalled  the  man  to  himself  for  a  moment, 
and  he  was  silent.  Presently  he  seated  himself  on  a  stone. 
His  lips  were  tremulous  as  he  said,  in  a  low  tone,  "  Sit 
down  by  me,  Myrtle." 

"  No,"  she  answered,  with  something  which  chilled  him 
in  her  voice,  "  we  will  not  stay  here  any  longer  ;  it  is  time 
to  go  home." 

"Fulltime!"  muttered  Cynthia  Badlam,  whose  watch 
ful  eyes  had  been  upon  them,  peering  through  a  screen 
of  yellow  leaves,  that  turned  her  face  pale  as  if  with  dead 
ly  passion. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  163 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

FLANK   MOVEMENT. 

MISS  CYNTHIA  BADLAM  was  in  the  habit  of 
occasionally  visiting  the  Widow  Hopkins.  Some 
said  —  but  then  people  will  talk,  especially  in  the  country, 
where  they  have  not  much  else  to  do,  except  in  haying- 
time.  She  had  always  known  the  widow,  long  before  Mr. 
Gridley  came  there  to  board,  or  any  other  special  event 
happened  in  her  family.  No  matter  what  people  said. 

Miss  Badlam  called  to  see  Mrs.  Hopkins,  then,  and 
the  two  had  a  long  talk  together,  of  which  only  a  portion 
is  on  record.  Here  are  such  fragments  as  have  been  pre 
served. 

"  What  would  I  do  about  it  ?  Why,  I M  put  a  stop  to 
such  carry'n's  on,  mighty  quick,  if  I  had  to  tie  the  girl  to 
the  bedpost,  and  have  a  bulldog  that  would  take  the  seat 
out  of  any  pair  of  black  pantaloons  that  come  within  forty 
rod  of  her,  —  that 's  what  /  'd  do  about  it !  He  undertook 
to  be  mighty  sweet  with  our  Susan  one  while,  but  ever 
sence  he  's  been  talkin'  religion  with  Myrtle  Hazard  he  's 
let  us  alone.  Do  as  I  did  when  he  asked  our  Susan  to 
come  to  his  study,  —  stick  close  to  your  girl  and  you  'il 
put  a  stop  to  all  this  business.  He  won't  make  love 
to  two  at  once,  unless  they  're  both  pretty  young,  I  '11 
warrant.  Follow  her  round,  Miss  Cynthy,  and  keep  your 
eyes  on  her." 

"I  have  watched  her  like  a  cat,  Mrs.  Hopkins,  but  1 
can't  follow  her  everywhere,  —  she  won't  stand  what 


1G4  THE   GUAEDIAN  ANGEL. 

Susan  Posey  '11  stand.     There  's  no  use  our  talking  to  her, 

—  we  've  done  with  that  at  our  house.     You  never  know 
what  that  Indian  blood  of  hers  will  make  her  do.     She  's 
too  high-strung  for  us  to  bit  and  bridle.     I  don't  want  to 

see  her  name  in  the  paper  again,  alongside  of  that " 

(She  did  not  finish  the  sentence.)     "  I  'd  rather  have  her 
fished  dead  out  of  the  river,  or  find  her  where  she  found 
her  uncle  Malachi !  " 

"  You  don't  think,  Miss  Cynthy,  that  the  man  means 
to  inveigle  the  girl  with  the  notion  of  marryin'  her  by  and 
by,  after  poor  Mrs.  Stoker  's  dead  and  gone  ?  " 

"  The  Lord  in  heaven  forbid !  "  exclaimed  Miss  Cyn 
thia,  throwing  up  her  hands.  "  A  child  of  fifteen  years 
old,  if  she  is  a  woman  to  look  at ! " 

"  It 's  too  bad,  —  it 's  too  bad  to  think  of,  Miss  Cynthy  ; 
and  there 's  that  poor  woman  dyin'  by  inches,  and  Miss 
Bathsheby  settin'  with  her  day  and  night,  —  she  has  n't 
got  a  bit  of  her  father  in  her,  it 's  all  her  mother,  —  and 
that  man,  instead  of  bein'  with  her  to  comfort  her  as  any 
man  ought  to  be  with  his  wife,  —  in  sickness  and  in 
health,  that 's  what  he  promised.  I  'm  sure  when  my  poor 
husband  was  sick  ....  To  think  of  that  man  goin'  about 
to  talk  religion  to  all  the  prettiest  girls  he  can  find  in  the 
parish,  and  his  wife  at  home  like  to  leave  him  so  soon, 

—  it 's    a  shame,  —  so   it    is,  come    now !     Miss   Cynthy, 
there  's  one  of  the  best  men  and  one  of  the  learnedest 
men  that  ever  lived  that 's  a  real  friend  of  Myrtle  Hazard, 
and  a  better  friend  to   her  than  she  knows  of,  —  for  ever 
sence  he  brought  her  home,  he  feels  jest  like  a  father  to 
her,  —  and  that  man  is  Mr.  Gridley,   that   lives   in   this 
house.     It 's  him  I  '11  speak  to  about  the  minister's  carry'n's 
on.     He  knows  about  his  talking  sweet  to  our  Susan,  and 


THE   GUARDIAN   AXGEL.  165 

lie  '11  put  things  to  rights  !  He 's  a  master  hand  when 
he  does  once  take  hold  of  anything,  I  tell  you  that !  Jest 
get  him  to  shet  up  them  books  of  his,  and  take  hold  of 
anybody's  troubles,  and  you  '11  see  how  he  '11  straighten 
'em  out." 

There  was  a  pattering  of  little  feet  on  the  stairs,  and  the 
two  small  twins,  "  Sossy "  and  "  Minthy,"  in  the  home 
dialect,  came  hand  in  hand  into  the  room,  Miss  Susan 
leaving  them  at  the  threshold,  not  wishing  to  interrupt 
the  two  ladies,  and  being  much  interested  also  in  listening 
to  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins,  who  was  reading  some  of  his 
last  poems  to  her,  with  great  delight  to  both  of  them. 

The  good  woman  rose  to  take  them  from  Susan,  and 
guide  their  uncertain  steps.  "My  babies,  I  call  'em, 
Miss  Cynthy.  Ain't  they  nice  children  ?  Come  to  go  to 
bed,  little  dears  ?  Only  a  few  minutes,  Miss  Cynthy." 

She  took  them  into  the  bedroom  on  the  same  floor, 
where  they  slept,  and,  leaving  the  door  open,  began  un 
dressing  them.  Cynthia  turned  her  rocking-chair  round  so 
as  to  face  the  open  door.  She  looked  on  while  the  little 
creatures  were  being  undressed ;  she  heard  the  few  words 
they  lisped  as  their  infant  prayer  ;  she  saw  them  laid  in 
their  beds,  and  heard  their  pretty  good-night. 

A  lone  woman  to  whom  all  the  sweet  cares  of  maternity 
have  been  denied  cannot  look  upon  a  sight  like  this  with-  " 
out  feeling  the  void  in  her  own  heart  where  a  mother's 
affection  should  have  nestled.  Cynthia  sat  perfectly  still, 
without  rocking,  and  watched  kind  Mrs.  Hopkins  at  her 
quasi  parental  task.  A  tear  stole  down  her  rigid  face  as 
she  saw  the  rounded  limbs  of  the  children  bared  in  their 
white  beauty,  and  their  little  heads  laid  on  the  pillow. 
They  were  sleeping  quietly  when  Mrs.  Hopkins  left  the 


166  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

room  for  a  moment  on  some  errand  of  her  .own.  Cynthia 
rose  softly  from  her  chair,  stole  swiftly  to  the  bedside,  and 
printed  a  long,  burning  kiss  on  each  of  their  foreheads. 

When  Mrs.  Hopkins  came  back,  she  found  the  maiden 
lady  sitting  in  her  place  just  as  she  left  her,  but  rocking  in 
her  chair  and  sobbing  as  one  in  sudden  pangs  of  grief. 

"  It  is  a  great  trouble,  Miss  Cynthy,"  she  said,  —  "a 
great  trouble  to  have  such  a  child  as  Myrtle  to  think  of 
and  to  care  for.  If  she  was  like  our  Susan  Posey,  now  ! 
—  but  we  must  do  the  best  we  can  ;•  and  if  Mr.  Gridley 
once  sets  himself  to  it,  you  may  depend  upon  it  he  '11  make 
it  all  come  right.  I  would  n't  take  on  about  it  if  I  was 
you.  You  let  me  speak  to  our  Mr.  Gridley.  We  all 
have  our  troubles.  It  is  n't  everybody  that  can  ride  to 
heaven  in  a  C-spring  shay,  as  my  poor  husband  used  to 
say  ;  and  life  's  a  road  that 's  got  a  good  many  thank-you- 
ma'ams  to  go  bumpin'  over,  says  he." 

Miss  Badlam  acquiesced  in  the  philosophical  reflections 
of  the  late  Mr.  Ammi  Hopkins,  and  left  it  to  his  widow  to 
carry  out  her  own  suggestion  in  reference  to  consulting 
Master  Gridley.  The  good  woman  took  the  first  oppor 
tunity  she  had  to  introduce  the  matter,  a  little  diffusely,  as 
is  often  the  way  of  widows  who  keep  boarders. 

"  There  's  something  going  on  I  don't  like,  Mr.  Gridley. 
They  tell  me  that  Minister  Stoker  is  following  round  after 
Myrtle  Hazard,  talking  religion  at  her  jest  about  the  same 
way  he  'd  have  liked  to  with  our  Susan,  I  calculate.  If  he 
wants  to  talk  religion  to  me  or  Silence  Withers,  —  well, 
no,  I  don't  feel  sure  about  Silence,  —  she  ain't  as  young  as 
she  used  to  be,  but  then  ag'in  she  ain't  so  fur  gone  as  some, 
and  she's  got  money,  —  but  if  he  wants  to  talk  religion 
with  me,  he  may  come  and  welcome.  But  as  for  Myrtle 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  167 

Hazard,  she  's  been  sick,  and  it 's  left  her  a  little  flighty  by 
what  they  say,  and  to  have  a  minister  round  her  all  the 
time  ravin'  about  the  next  world  as  if  he  had  a  latch-key 
to  the  front  door  of  it,  is  no  way  to  make  her  come  to  her 
self  again.  I  've  seen  more  than  one  young  girl  sent  off 
to  the  asylum  by  that  sort  of  work,  when,  if  I  'd  only  had 
'em,  I  'd  have  made  'em  sweep  the  stairs,  and  mix  the 
puddin's,  and  tend  the  babies,  and  milk  the  cow,  and  keep 
'em  too  busy  all  day  to  be  thinkin'  about  themselves,  and 
have  'em  dress  up  nice  evenin's  and  see  some  young  folks 
and  have  a  good  time,  and  go  to  meetin'  Sundays,  and  then 
have  done  with  the  minister,  unless  it  was  old  Father 
Pemberton.  He  knows  forty  times  as  much  about  heaven 
as  that  Stoker  man  does,  or  ever  's  like  to,  —  why  don't 
they  run^after  him,  I  should  like  to  know  ?  Ministers  are 
men,  come  now  ;  and  I  don't  want  to  say  anything  against 
women,  Mr.  Gridley,  but  women  are  women,  that  's  the 
fact  of  it,  and  half  of  'em  are  hystericky  when  they  're 
young  ;  and  I  've  heard  old  Dr.  Hurlbut  say  many  a  time 
that  he  had  to  lay  in  an  extra  stock  of  valerian  and  assa- 
foetida  whenever  there  was  a  young  minister  round,  —  for 
there  's  plenty  of  religious  ravin',  says  he,  that  's  nothin' 
but  hysterics." 

[Mr.  Froude  thinks  that  was  the  trouble  with  Bloody 
Queen  Mary,  but  the  old  physician  did  not  get  the  idea 
from  him.] 

"  Well,  and  what  do  you  propose  to  do  about  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker  and  his  young  proselyte,  Miss 
Myrtle  Hazard  ?  "  said  Mr.  Gridley,  when  Mrs.  Hopkins 
at  last  gave  him  a  chance  to  speak. 

"  Mr.  Gridley,"  —  Mrs.  Hopkins  looked  full  upon  him 
as  she  spoke,  —  "  people  used  to  say  that  you  was  a  good 


168  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

man  and  a  great  man  and  one  of  the  learnedest  men  alive, 
but  that  you  did  n't  know  much  nor  care  for  much  except 
books.  I  know  you  used  to  live  pretty  much  to  yourself 
when  you  first  came  to  board  in  this  house.  But  you  've 
been  very  good  to  my  son  ;  .  .  .  .  and  if  Gifted  lives  till 
you  ....  till  you  are  in  ....  your  grave,  ....  he 
will  write  a  poem  —  I  know  he  will  —  that  will  tell  your 
goodness  to  babes  unborn." 

[Here  Master  Gridley  groaned,  and  repeated  to  himself 
silently, 

"  Scindentur  vestes,  gemmrc  frangcntur  et  aurura, 
Carmina  quura  tribuent  fama  pcrennis  erit." 

All  this  inwardly,  and  without  interrupting  the  worthy 
woman's  talk.] 

"  And  if  ever  Gifted  makes  a  book,  —  don't  say  anything 
about  it,  Mr.  Gridley,  for  goodness'  sake,  for  he  would  n't 
have  anybody  know  it,  only  I  can't  help  thinking  that  some 
time  or  other  he  will  print  a  book,  —  and  if  he  doe?,  I 
know  whose  name  he  '11  put  at  the  head  of  it,  — '  Dedi 
cated  to  B.  G.,  with  the  gratitude  and  respect  — '  There, 
now,  I  had  n't  any  business  to  say  a  word  about  it,  and  it 's 
only  jest  in  case  he  does,  you  know.  I  'm  sure  you  de 
serve  it  all.  You  've  helped  him  with  the  best  of  advice. 
And  you  've  been  kind  to  me  when  I  was  in  trouble.  And 
you  've  been  like  a  grandfather  "  [Master  Gridley  winced, 
—  why  could  n't  the  woman  have  said  father  ?  —  that 
grand  struck  his  ear  like  a  spade  going  into  the  gravel] 
"  to  those  babes,  poor  little  souls  !  left  on  my  door-step  like 
a  couple  of  breakfast  rolls,  —  only  you  know  it 's  the  baker 
left  them.  I  believe  in  you,  Mr.  Gridley,  as  I  believe  in 
my  Maker  and  in  Father  Pemberton,  —  but,  poor  man  ! 
he  's  old,  and  you  won't  be  old  these  twenty  years  yet." 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  1G9 

[Master  Gridley  shook  his  head  as  if  to  say  that  was  n't 
so,  but  felt  comforted  and  refreshed.] 

"  You  Ve  got  to  help  Myrtle  Hazard  again.  You 
brought  her  home  when  she  come  so  nigh  drowning.  You 
got  the  old  doctor  to  go  and  see  her  when  she  come  so 
nigh  being  bewitched  with  the  magnetism  and  nonsense, 
whatever  they  call  it,  and  the  young  doctor  was  so  riigh 
bein'  crazy,  too.  I  know,  for  Nurse  Byloe  told  me  all 
about  it.  And  now  Myrtle  's  gettin'  run  away  with  by 
that  pesky  Minister  Stoker.  Cynthy  Badlam  was  here 
yesterday  crying  and  sobbing  as  if  her  heart  would  break 
about  it.  For  my  part,  I  did  n't  think  Cynthy  cared  so 
much  for  the  girl  as  all  that,  but  I  saw  her  takin'  on  dread 
fully  with  my  own  eyes.  That  man  's  like  a  hen-hawk 
among  the  chickens,  —  first  he  picks  up  one,  and  then  he 
picks  up  another.  I  should  like  to  know  if  nobody  but 
young  folks  has  souls  to  be  saved,  and  specially  young 
women  !  " 

".Tell  me  all  you  know  about  Myrtle  Hazard  and  Joseph 
Bellamy  Stoker,"  said  Master  Gridley. 

Thereupon  that  good  lady  related  all  that  Miss  Badlam 
had  imparted  to  her,  of  which  the  reader  knows  the  worst, 
being  the  interview  of  which  the  keen  spinster  had  been  a 
witness,  having  followed  them  for  the  express  purpose  of 
knowing,  in  her  own  phrase,  what  the  minister  was  up  to. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Myrtle  had  forgotten  the 
discreet  kindness  of  Maste'r  Gridley  in  bringing  her  back 
and  making  the  best  of  her  adventure.  He,  on  his  part, 
had  acquired  a  kind  of  right  to  consider  himself  her  adviser, 
and  had  begun  to  take  a  pleasure  in  the  thought  that  he, 
the  worn-out  and  useless  old  pedant,  as  he  had  been  in  the 
way  of  considering  himself,  might  perhaps  do  something 
8 


170  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

even  more  important  than  his  previous  achievement  to 
save  this  young  girl  from  the  dangers  that  surrounded  her. 
lie  loved  his  classics  and  his  old  books ;  he  took  an  inter 
est,  too,  in  the  newspapers  and  periodicals  that  brought  the 
fermenting  thought  and  the  electric  life  of  the  great  world 
into  his  lonely  study ;  but  these  things  just  about  him  were 
getting  strong  hold  on  him,  and  most  of  all  the  fortunes  of 
this  beautiful  young  woman.  How  strange  !  For  a  whole 
generation  he  had  lived  in  no  nearer  relation  to  his  fel 
low-creatures  than  that  of  a  half-fossilized  teacher ;  and  all 
at  once  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  the  very  most 
intense  form  of  life,  the  counsellor  of  threatened  innocence, 
the  champion  of  imperilled  loveliness.  What  business  was 
it  of  his  ?  growled  the  lower  nature,  of  which  he  had  said 
in  "  Thoughts  on  the  Universe,"  —  "  Every  man  leads  or 
is  led  by  something  that  goes  on  four  legs" 

Then  he  remembered  the  grand  line  of  the  African  freed- 
man,  that  makes  all  human  interests  everybody's  business, 
and  had  a  sudden  sense  of  dilatation  and  evolution,  as  it 
were,  in  all  his  dimensions,  as  if  he  were  a  head  taller,  and 
a  foot  bigger  round  the  chest,  and  took  in  an  extra  gallon 
of  air  at  every  breath.  Then  —  you  who  have  written  a 
book  that  holds  your  heart -leaves  between  its  pages  will 
understand  the  movement  —  he  took  down  "  Thoughts  on 
the  Universe  "  for  a  refreshing  draught  from  his  own  well- 
spring.  He  opened  as  chance  ordered  it,  and  his  eyes  fell 
on  the  following  passage  :  — 

"  The  true  American  formula  was  well  phrased  by  the 
late  Samuel  Patch,  the  Western  Empedocles,  '  Some  things 
can  be  done  as  well  as  others'  A  homely  utterance,  but  it 
has  virtue  to  overthrow  all  dynasties  and  hierarchies.  These 
were  all  built  up  on  the  Old-  World  dogma  that  some  things 
can  NOT  be  done  as  well  as  others" 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  171 

"  There,  now  !  "  he  said,  talking  to  himself  in  his  usual 
way,  "  is  n't  that  good  ?  It  always  seems  to  me  that  I  find 
something  to  the  point  when  I  open  that  book.  '  Some 
things  can  be  done  as  well  as  others,'  can  they?  Suppose 
I  should  try  what  I  can  do  by  visiting  Miss  Myrtle  Haz 
ard  ?  I  think  I  may  say  I  am  old  and  incombustible  enough 
to  be  trusted.  She  does  not  seem  to  be  a  safe  neighbor 

o 

to  very  inflammable  bodies  !  " 

Myrtle  was  sitting  in  the  room  long  known  as  the  Study, 
or  the  Library,  when  Master  Byles  Gridley  called  at  The 
Poplars  to  see  her.  Miss  Cynthia,  who  received  him,  led 
him  to  this  apartment  and  left  him  alone  with  Myrtle.  She 
welcomed  him  very  cordially,  but  colored  as  she  did  so,  — 
his  visit  was  a  surprise.  She  was  at  work  on  a  piece  of 
embroidery.  Her  first  instinctive  movement  was  to  thrust 
it  out  of  sight  with  the  thought  of  concealment;  but  she 
checked  this,  and  before  the  blush  of  detection  had  reached 
her  cheek,  the  blush  of  ingenuous  shame  for  her  weakness 
had  caught  and  passed  it,  and  was  in  full  possession.  She 
sat  with  her  worsted  pattern  held  bravely  in  sight,  and  her 
cheek  as  bright  as  its  liveliest  crimson. 

"  Miss  Cynthia  has  let  me  in  upon  you,"  he  said,  "  or  I 
should  not  have  ventured  to  disturb  you  in  this  way.  A 
work  of  art,  is  it,  Miss  Myrtle  Hazard?" 

"  Only  a  pair  of  slippers,  Mr.  Gridley,  —  for  my  pastor." 

"  Oh !  oh  !  That  is  well.  A  good  old  man.  I  have  a 
great  regard  for  the  Rev.  Eliphalet  Pemberton.  I  wish  all 
ministers  were  as  good  and  simple  and  pure-hearted  as  the 
Itev.  Eliphalet  Pemberton.  And  I  wish  all  the  young 
people  thought  as  much  about  their  elders  as  you  do,  Miss 
Myrtle  Hazard.  We  that  are  old  love  little  acts  of  kind 
ness.  You  gave  me  more  pleasure  than  you  knew  of,  ray 


172  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

dear,  when  you  worked  that  handsome  cushion  for  me.  The 
old  minister  will  be  greatly  pleased,  —  poor  old  man  !  " 

"  But,  Mr.  Gridley,  I  must  not  let  you  think  these  are 
for  Father  Pemberton.  They  are  for  —  Mr.  —  Stoker." 

"  The  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker !  He  is  not  an  old 
man,  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy  Stoker.  He  may  perhaps 
be  a  widower  before  a  great  while.  —  Does  he  know  that 
you  are  working  those  slippers  for  him  ?  " 

"  Dear  me !  no,  Mr.  Gridley.  I  meant  them  for  a  sur 
prise  to  him.  He  has  been  so  kind  to  me,  and  understands 
me  so  much  better  than  I  thought  anybody  did.  He  is  so 
different  from  what  I  thought ;  he  makes  religion  so  per 
fectly  simple,  it  seems  as  if  everybody  would  agree  with 
him,  if  they  could  only  hear  him  talk." 

"  Greatly  interested  in  the  souls  of  his  people,  is  n't  he  ?  " 

"Too  much,  almost,  I  am  afraid.  He  says  he  has  been 
too  hard  in  his  sermons  sometimes,  but  it  was  for  fear  he 
should  not  impress  his  hearers  enough." 

"  Don't  you  think  he  worries  himself  about  the  souls  of 
young  women  rather  more  than  for  those  of  old  ones, 
Myrtle?" 

There  was  something  in  the  tone  of  this  question  that 
helped  its  slightly  sarcastic  expression.  Myrtle's  jealousy 
for  her  minister's  sincerity  was  roused. 

"  How  can  you  ask  that,  Mr.  Gridley  ?  I  am  sure  I 
wish  you  or  anybody  could  have  heard  him  talk  as  I  have. 
There  is  no  age  in  souls,  he  says  ;  and  I  am  sure  that  it 
would  do  anybody  good  to  hear  him,  old  or  young." 

"  No  age  in  souls,  —  no  age  in  souls.  Souls  of  forty  as 
young  as  souls  of  fifteen  ;  that 's  it."  Master  Gridley  did 
not  say  this  loud.  But  he  did  speak  as  follows  :  "  I  am 
glad  to  hear  what  you  say  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  173 

Stoker's  love  of  being  useful  to  people  of  all  ages.  You 
have  had  comfort  in  his  companionship,  and  there  are 
others  who  might  be  very  glad  to  profit  by  it.  I  know  a 
very  excellent  person  who  has  had  trials,  and  is  greatly 
interested  in  religious  conversation.  Do  you  think  he 
would  be  willing  to  let  this  friend  of  mine  share  in  the 
privileges  of  spiritual  intercourse  which  you  enjoy  ?  " 

There  was  but  one  answer  possible.  Of  course  he 
would. 

"  I  hope  it  is  so,  my  dear  young  lady.  But  listen  to  me 
one  moment.  I  love  you,  my  dear  child,  do  you  know,  as 
if  I  were  your  own — grandfather."  (There  was  moral 
heroism  in  that  word.)  "  I  love  you  as  if  you  were  of  my 
own  blood ;  and  so  long  as  you  trust  me,  and  suffer  me,  I 
mean  to  keep  watch  against  all  dangers  that  threaten  you 
in  mind,  body,  or  estate.  You  may  wonder  at  me,  you  may 
sometimes  doubt  me ;  but  until  you  say  you  distrust  me, 
when  any  trouble  comes  near  you,  you  will  find  me  there. 
Now,  my  dear  child,  you  ought  to  know  that  the  Rev.  Jo 
seph  Bellamy  Stoker  has  the  reputation  of  being  too  fond 
of  prosecuting  religious  inquiries  with  young  and  handsome 
women." 

Myrtle's  eyes  fell,  —  a  new  suspicion  seemed  to  have 
suggested  itself. 

"He  wanted  to  get  up  a  spiritual  intimacy  with  our 
Susan  Posey,  —  a  very  pretty  girl,  as  you  know." 

Myrtle  tossed  her  head  almost  imperceptibly,  and  bit 
her  lip. 

"  I  suppose  there  are  a  dozen  young  people  that  have 
been  talked  about  with  him.  He  preaches  cruel  sermons 
in  his  pulpit,  cruel  as  death,  and  cold-blooded  enough  to 
freeze  any  mother's  blood  if  nature  did  not  tell  her  he  lied, 


174  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

and  then  smooths  it  all  over  with  the  first  good-looking 
young  woman  he  can  get  to  listen  to  him." 

Myrtle  had  dropped  the  slipper  she  was  working  on. 

"Tell  me,  my  dear,  would  you  be  willing  to  give  up 
meeting  this  man  alone,  and  gratify  my  friend,  and  avoid 
all  occasion  of  reproach  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  would,"  said  Myrtle,  her  eyes  flashing,  for 
her  doubts,  her  shame,  her  pride,  were  all  excited.  "  Who 
is  your  friend,  Mr.  Gridley  ?  " 

"  An  excellent  woman,  —  Mrs.  Hopkins.  You  know 
her,  Gifted  Hopkins's  mother,  with  whom  I  am  residing. 
Shall  the  minister  be  given  to  understand  that  you  will  see 
him  hereafter  in  her  company  ?  " 

Myrtle  came  pretty  near  a  turn  of  her  old  nervous  per 
turbations.  "  As  you  say,"  she  answered.  "  Is  there  no 
body  that  I  can  trust,  or  is  everybody  hunting  me  like  a 
bird  ?  "  She  hid  her  face  in  her  hands. 

"You  can  trust  me,  my  dear,"  said  Byles  Gridley. 
"  Take  your  needle,  my  child,  and  work  at  your  pattern,  — - 
it  will  come  out  a  rose  by  and  by.  Life  is  like  that,  Myr 
tle,  one  stitch  at  a  time,  taken  patiently,  and  the  pattern 
will  come  out  all  right  like  the  embroidery.  You  can  trust 
me.  Good  by,  my  dear." 

"  Let  her  finish  the  slippers,"  the  old  man  said  to  himself 
as  he  trudged  home,  "  and  make  'em  big  enough  for  Father 
Pemberton.  He  shall  have  his  feet  in  'em  yet,  or  my  name 
is  n't  Byles  Gridley  ! " 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  175 

CHAPTER    XV. 

ARRIVAL   OF   REINFORCEMENTS. 

MYRTLE  HAZARD  waited  until  the  steps  of  Mas 
ter  Byles  Gridley  had  ceased  to  be  heard,  as  he 
walked  in  his  emphatic  way  through  the  long  entry  of  the 
old  mansion.  Then  she  went  to  her  little  chamber  and 
sat  down  in  a  sort  of  revery.  She  could  not  doubt  his  sin 
cerity,  and  there  was  something  in  her  own  consciousness 
which  responded  to  the  suspicions  he  had  expressed  with 
regard  to  the  questionable  impulses  of  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Bellamy  Stoker. 

It  is  not  in  the  words  that  others  say  to  us,  but  in  those 
other  words  which  these  make  us  say  to  ourselves,  that  we 
find  our  gravest  lessons  and  our  sharpest  rebukes.  The 
hint  another  gives  us  finds  whole  trains  of  thought  which 
have  been  getting  themselves  ready  to  be  shaped  in  in 
wardly  articulated  words,  and  only  awaited  the  touch  of  a 
burning  syllable,  as  the  mottoes  of  a  pyrotechnist  only  wait 
for  a  spark  to  become  letters  of  fire. 

The  artist  who  takes  your  photograph  must  carry  you 
with  him  into  his  "  developing  "  room,  and  he  will  give  you 
a  more  exact  illustration  of  the  truth  just  mentioned.  There 
is  nothing  to  be  seen  on  the  glass  just  taken  from  the 
camera.  But  there  is  a  potential,  though  invisible,  picture 
hid  in  the  creamy  film  which  covers  it.  Watch  him  as  he 
pours  a  wash  over  it,  and  you  will  see  that  miracle  wrought 
which  is  at  once  a  surprise  and  a -charm,  —  the  sudden 
appearance  of  your  own  features,  where  a  moment  before 
was  a  blank  without  a  vestige  of  intelligence  or  beauty. 


176  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

In  some  such  way  the  grave  warnings  of  Master  Byles 
Gridley  had  called  up  a  fully  shaped,  but  hitherto  unword- 
ed,  train  of  thought  in  the  consciousness  x)f  Myrtle  Hazard. 
It  was  not  merely  their  significance,  it  was  mainly  because 
they  were  spoken  at  the  fitting  time.  If  they  had  been 
uttered  a  few  weeks  earlier,  when  Myrtle  was  taking  the 
first  stitch  on  the  embroidered  slippers,  they  would  have 
been  as  useless  as  the  artist's  developing  solution  on  a  plate 
which  had  never  been  exposed  in  the  camera.  But  she 
had  been  of  late  in  training  for  her  lesson  in  ways  that 
neither  she  nor  anybody  else  dreamed  of.  The  reader  who 
has  shrugged  his  (or  her)  shoulders  over  the  last  illustra 
tion  will  perhaps  hear  this  one  which  follows  more  cheer 
fully.  The  physician  in  the  Arabian  Nights  made  his 
patient  play  at  ball  with  a  bat,  the  hollow  handle  of  which 
contained  drugs  of  marvellous  efficacy.  Whether  it  was 
the  drugs  that  made  the  sick  man  get  well,  or  the  exercise, 
is  not  of  so  much  consequence  as  the  fact  that  he  did  at  any 
rate  get  well. 

These  walks  which  Myrtle  had  taken  with  her  reverend 
counsellor  had  given  her  a  new  taste  for  the  open  air,  which 
was  what  she  needed  just  now  more  than  confessions  of  faith 
or  spiritual  paroxysms.  And  so  it  happened  that,  while  he 
had  been  stimulating  all  those  imaginative  and  emotional 
elements  of  her  nature  which  responded  to  the  keys  he 
loved  to  play  upon,  the  restoring  influences  of  the  sweet 
autumnal  air,  the  mellow  sunshine,  the  soothing  aspects  of 
the  woods  and  fields  and  sky,  had  been  quietly  doing  their 
work.  The  color  was  fast  returning  to  her  cheek,  and  the 
discords  of  her  feelings  and  her  thoughts  gradually  resolv 
ing  themselves  into  the  harmonious  >  and  cheerful  rhythms 
of  bodily  and  mental  health.  It  needed  but  the  timely 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  177 

word  from  the  fitting  lips  to  change  the  whole  programme 
of  her  daily  mode  of  being.  The  word  had  been  spoken. 
She  saw  its  truth ;  but  how  hard  it  is  to  tear  away  a  cher 
ished  illusion,  to  cast  out  an  unworthy  intimate !  How 
hard  for  any !  —  but  for  a  girl  so  young,  and  who  had  as 
yet  found  so  little  to  love  and  trust,  how  cruelly  hard ! 

She  sat,  still  and  stony,  like  an  Egyptian  statue.  Her 
eyes  were  fixed  on  a  vacant  chair  opposite  the  one  on  which 
she  was  sitting.  It  was  a  very  singular  and  fantastic  old 
chair,  said  to  have  been  brought  over  by  the  first  emigrant 
of  her  race.  The  legs  and  arms  were  curiously  turned  in 
spirals,  the  suggestions  of  which  were  half  pleasing  and  half 
repulsive.  Instead  of  the  claw-feet  common  in  furniture  of 
a  later  date,  each  of  its  legs  rested  on  a  misshapen  reptile, 
which  it  seemed  to  flatten  by  its  weight,  as  if  it  were  squeez 
ing  the  breath  out  of  the  ugly  creature.  Over  this  chair 
hung  tfye  portrait  of  her  beautiful  ancestress,  her  neck  and 
arms,  the  specialty  of  her  beauty,  bare,  except  for  a  brace 
let  on  the  left  wrist,  and  her  shapely  figure  set  off  by  the 
ample  folds  of  A  rich  crimson  brocade.  Over  Myrtle's  bed 
hung  that  other  portrait,  which  was  to  her  almost  as  the 
pictures  of  the  Mater  Dolorosa  to  trustful  souls  of  the 
Roman  faith.  She  had  longed  for  these  pictures  while  she 
was  in  her  strange  hysteric  condition,  and  they  had  been 
hung  up  in  her  chamber. 

The  night  was  far  gone,  as  she  knew  by  the  declining 
of  the  constellations  which  she  had  seen  shining  brightly 
almost  overhead  in  the  early  evening,  when  she  awoke,  and 
found  herself  still  sitting  in  the  very  attitude  in  which 
she  was  sitting  hours  before.  Her  lamp  had  burned  out, 
and  the  starlight  but  dimly  illuminated  her  chamber.  She 
started  to  find  herself  sitting  there,  chilled  and  stiffened  by 
8*  L 


178  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

long  remaining  in  one  posture ;  and  as  her  consciousness 
returned,  a  great  fear  seized  her,  and  she  sprang  for  -a 
match.  It  broke  with  the  quick  movement  she  made  to 
kindle  it,  and  she  snatched  another  as  if  a  fiend  were  after 
her.  It  flashed  and  went  out.  O  the  terror,  the  terror ! 
The  darkness  seemed  alive  with  fearful  presences.  The 
lurid  glare  of  her  own  eyeballs  flashed  backwards  into  her 
brain.  She  tried  one  more  match ;  it  kindled  as  it  should, 
and  she  lighted  another  lamp.  Her  first  impulse  was  to 
assure  herself  that  nothing  was  changed  in  the  familiar 
objects  around  her.  She  held  the  lamp  up  to  the  picture 
of  Judith  Pride.  The  beauty  looked  at  her,  it  seemed  as  if 
with  a  kind  of  lofty  recognition  in  her  eyes ;  but  there  she 
was,  as  always.  She  turned  the  light  upon  the  pale  face 
of  the  martyr-portrait.  It  looked  troubled  and  faded,  as  it 
seemed  to  Myrtle,  but  still  it  was  the  same  face  she  remem 
bered  from  her  childhood.  Then  she  threw  the  light  on 
the  old  chair,  and,  shuddering,  caught  up  a  shawl  and  flung 
it  over  the  spiral-wound  arms  and  legs,  and  the  flattened 
reptiles  on  which  it  stood. 

In  those  dead  hours  of  the  night  which  had  passed  over 
her  sitting  there,  still  and  stony,  as  it  should  seem,  she  had 
had  strange  visitors.  Two  women  had  been  with  her,  as 
real  as  any  that  breathed  the  breath  of  life,  —  so  it  ap 
peared  to  her,  —  yet  both  had  long  been  what  is  called,  in 
our  poor  language,  dead.  One  came  in  all  the  glory  of 
her  ripened  beauty,  bare-necked,  bare-armed,  full  dressed 
by  nature  in  that  splendid  animal  equipment  which  in  its 
day  had  captivated  the  eyes  of  all  the  lusty  lovers  of  com 
plete  muliebrity.  The  other,  —  how  delicate,  how  trans 
lucent,  how  aerial  she  seemed !  yet  real  and  true  to  the 
lineaments  of  her  whom  the  young  girl  looked  upon  as  her 
hereditary  protector. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  179 

The  beautiful  woman  turned,  and,  with  a  face  full  of 
loathing  and  scorn,  pointed  to  one  of  the  reptiles  beneath 
the  feet  of  the  chair.  And  while  Myrtle's  eyes  followed 
hers,  the  flattened  and  half-crushed  creature  seemed  to 
swell  and  spread  like  his  relative  in  the  old  fable,  like  the 
black  dog  in  Faust,  until  he  became  of  tenfold  size,  and  at 
last  of  colossal  proportions.  And,  fearful  to  relate,  the 
batrachian  features  humanized  themselves  as  the  monster 
grew,  and,  shaping  themselves  more  and  more  into  a  re 
membered  similitude,  Myrtle  saw  in  them  a  hideous  like 
ness  of — No!  no!  it  was  too  horrible!  Was  that  the 
face  which  had  been  so  close  to  hers  but  yesterday  ?  were 
those  the  lips,  the  breath  from  which  had  stirred  her  grow 
ing  curls  as  he  leaned  over  her  while  they  read  together 
some  passionate  stanza  from  a  hymn  that  was  as  much 
like  a  love-song  as  it  dared  to  be  in  godly  company  ?  A 
shudder  of  disgust  —  the  natural  repugnance  of  loveliness 
for  deformity  —  ran  all  through  her,  and  she  shrieked,  as 
she  thought,  and  threw  herself  at  the  feet  of  that  other 
figure.  She  felt  herself  lifted  from  the  floor,  and  then  a 
cold  thin  hand  seemed  to  take  hers.  The  warm  life  went 
out  of  her,  and  she  was  to  herself  as  a  dimly  conscious 
shadow  that  glided  with  passive  acquiescence  wherever 
it  was  led.  Presently  she  found  herself  in  a  half-lighted 
apartment,  where  there  were  books  on  the  shelves  around, 
and  a  desk  with  loose  manuscripts  lying  on  it,  and  a  little 
mirror  with  a  worn  bit  of  carpet  before  it.  And  while  she 
looked,  a  great  serpent  writhed  in  through  the  half-open 
door,  and  made  the  circuit  of  the  room,  laying  one  huge 
ring  all  round  it,  and  then,  going  round  again,  laid  another 
ring  over  the  first,  and  so  on  until  he  was  wound  all  round 
the  room  like  the  spiral  of  a  mighty  cable,  leaving  a  hoi- 


180  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

low  in  the  centre  ;  and  then  the  serpent  seemed  to  arch 
his  neck  in  the  air,  and  bring  his  head  close  down  to  Myr 
tle's  face  ;  and  the  features  were  not  those  of  a  serpent, 
but  of  a  man,  and  it  hissed  out  the  words  she  had  read 
that  very  day  in  a  little  note  which  said,  "  Come  to  my 
study  to-morrow,  and  we  will  read  hymns  together." 

Again  she  was  back  in  her  little  chamber,  she  did  not 
know  how,  and  the  two  women  were  looking  into  her  eyes 
with  strange  meaning  in  their  own.  Something  in  them 
seemed  to  plead  with  her  to  yield  to  their  influence,  and 
her  choice  wavered  which  of  them  to  follow,  for  each 
would  have  led  her  her  own  way,  —  whither  she  knew 
not.  It  was  the  strife  of  her  "  Vision,"  only  in  another 
form,  —  the  contest  of  two  lives  her  blood  inherited  for 
the  mastery  of  her  soul.  The  might  of  beauty  conquered. 
Myrtle  resigned  herself  to  the  guidance  of  the  lovely 
phantom,  which  seemed  so  much  fuller  of  the  unextin- 
guished  lire  of  life,  and  so  like  herself  as  she  would  grow 
to  be  when  noon  should  have  ripened  her  into  maturity. 

Doors  opened  softly  before  them ;  they  climbed  stairs, 
and  threaded  corridors,  and  penetrated  crypts,  strange  yet 
familiar  to  her  eyes,  which  seemed  to  her  as  if  they  could 
see,  as  it  were,  in  darkness.  Then  came  a  confused  sense 
of  eager  search  for  something  that  she  knew  was  hidden, 
whether  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock,  or  under  the  boards  of  a 
floor,  or  in  some  hiding-place  among  the  skeleton  rafters, 
or  in  a  forgotten  drawer,  or  in  a  heap  of  rubbish,  she  could 
not  tell;  but  somewhere  there  was  something  which  she 
was*  to  find,  and  which,  once  found,  was  to  be  her  talis 
man.  She  was  in  the  midst  of  this  eager  searchv  when 
she  awoke. 

The  impression  was  left  so"  strongly  on  her  mind  that, 

* 


THE    GUARDIAN  AKGEL.  181 

with  all  her  fears,  she  could  not  resist  the  desire  to  make 
an  effort  to  find  what  meaning  there  was  in  this  frightfully 
real  dream.  Her  courage  came  back  as  her  senses  as 
sured  her  that  all  around  her  was  natural,  as  when  she  left 
it.  She  determined  to  follow  the  lead  of  the  strange  hint 
her  nightmare  had  given  her. 

In  one  of  the  upper  chambers  of  the  old  mansion  there 
stood  a  tall,  upright  desk  of  the  ancient  pattern,  with 
folding  doors  above  and  large  drawers  below.  "  That 
desk  is  yours,  Myrtle,"  her  uncle  Malachi  had  once  said  to 
her ;  "  and  fcltere  is  a  trick  or  two  about  it  that  it  will  pay 
you  to  study."  Many  a  time  Myrtle  had  puzzled  herself 
about  the  mystery  of  the  old  desk.  All  the  little  draw 
ers,  of  which  there  were  a  considerable  number,  she  had 
pulled  out,  and  every  crevice,  as  she  thought,  she  had 
carefully  examined.  She  determined  to  make  one  more 
trial.  It  was  the  dead  of  the  night,  and  this  was  a  fearful 
old  place  to  be  wandering  about ;  but  she  was  possessed 
with  an  urgent  feeling  which  would  not  let  her  wait  until 
daylight. 

She  stole  like  a  ghost  from  her  chamber.  She  glided 
along  the  narrow  entries  as  she  had  seemed  to  move  in  her 
i  dream.  She  opened  the  folding  doors  of  the  great  upright 
desk.  She  had  always  before  examined  it  by  daylight, 
and  though  she  had  so  often  pulled  all  the  little  drawers  out, 
she  had  never  thoroughly  explored  the  recesses  which  re 
ceived  them.  But  in  her  new-born  passion  of  search,  she 
held  her  light  so  as  to  illuminate  all  these  deeper  spaces. 
At  once  she  thought  she  saw  the  marks  of  pressure  with 
a  finger.  She  pressed  her  own  finger  on  this  place,  and, 
as  it  yielded  with' a* slight  click,  a  small  mahogany  pilaster 
sprang  forward,  revealing  its  well-kept  secret  that  it  was 


182  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  mask  of  a  tall,  deep,  very  narrow  drawer.  There  was 
something  heavy  in  it,  and,  as  Myrtle  turned  it  over,  a 
golden  bracelet  fell  into  her  hand.  She  recognized  it  at 
once  as  that  which  had  been  long  ago  the  ornament  of  the 
fair  woman  whose  portrait  hung  in  her  chamber.  She 
clasped  it  upon  her  wrist,  and  from  that  moment  she  felt 
as  if  she  were  the  captive  of  the  lovely  phantom  who  had 
been  with  her  in  her  dream. 

"  The  old  man  walked  last  night,  God  save  us ! "  said 
Kitty  Fagan  to  Biddy  Finnegan,  the  day  after  Myrtle's 
nightmare  and  her  curious  discovery. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  183 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

VICTORY. 

IT  seems  probable  enough  that  Myrtle's  whole  spiritual  ' 
adventure  was  an  unconscious  dramatization  of  a  few 
simple  facts  which  her  imagination  tangled  together  into  a 
kind  of  vital  coherence.  The  philosopher  who  goes  to  the 
bottom  of  things  will  remark  that  all  the  elements  of  her 
fantastic  melodrama  had  been  furnished  her  while  waking. 
Master  Byles  Gridley's  penetrating  and  stinging  caution 
was  the  text,  and  the  grotesque  carvings  and  the  portraits 
furnished  the  "  properties  "  with  which  her  own  mind  had 
wrought  up  this  scenic  show. 

The  philosopher  who  goes  to  the  bottom  of  things  might 
not  find  it  so  easy  to  account  for  the  change  which  came 
over  Myrtle  Hazard  from  the  hour  when  she  clasped  the 
bracelet  of  Judith  Pride  upon  her  wrist.  She  felt  a  sud 
den  loathing  of  the  man  whom  she  had  idealized  as  a  saint. 
A  young  girl's  caprice  ?  Possibly.  A  return  of  the  nat 
ural  instincts  of  girlhood  with  returning  health  ?  Perhaps 
so.  An  impression  produced  by  her  dream?  An  effect 
of  an  influx  from  another  sphere  of  being?  The  working 
of  Master  Byles  Gridley's  emphatic  warning  ?  The  magic 
of  her  new  talisman  ? 

We  may  safely  leave  these  questions  for  the  present. 
As  we  have  to  tell,  not  what  Mrytle  Hazard  ought  to  have 
done,  and  why  she  should  have  done  it,  but  what  she  did 
do,  our  task  is  a  simpler  one  than  it  would  be  to  lay  bare 
all  the  springs  of  her  action.  Until  this  period,  she  had 


184  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

hardly  thought  of  herself  as  a  born  beauty.  The  flatteries 
she  had  received  from  time  to  time  were  like  the  chips  and 
splinters  under  the  green  wood,  when  the  chill  women  pre 
tended  to  make  a  fire  in  the  best  parlor  at  The  Poplars, 
which  had  a  way  of  burning  themselves  out,  hardly  warm 
ing,  much  less  kindling,  the  fore-stick  and  the  back-log. 

Myrtle  had  a  tinge  of  what  some  call  superstition,  and 
she  began  to  look  upon  her  strange  acquisition  as  a  kind 
of  amulet.  Its  suggestions  betrayed  themselves  in  one  of 
her  first  movements.  Nothing  could  be  soberer  than  the 
cut  of  the  dresses  which  the  propriety  of  the  severe  house 
hold  had  established  as  the  rule  of  her  costume.  But  the 
girl  was  no  sooner  out  of  bed  than  a  passion  came  over  her 
to  see  herself  in  that  less  jealous  arrangement  of  drapery 
which  the  Beauty  of  the  last  century  had  insisted  on  as 
presenting  her  most  fittingly  to  the  artist.  She  rolled  up 
the  sleeves  of  her  dress,  she  turned  down  its  prim  collar 
and  neck,  and  glanced  from  her  glass  to  the  portrait,  from 
the  portrait  back  to  the  glass.  Myrtle  was  not  blind  nor 
dull,  though  young,  and  in  many  things  untaught.  She 
did  not  say  in  so  many  words,  "  I  too  am  a  beauty,"  but 
she  could  not  help  seeing  that  she  had  many  of  the  attrac 
tions  of  feature  and  form  which  had  made  the  original  of 
the  picture  before  her  famous.  The  same  stately  carriage 
of  the  head,  the  same  full-rounded  neck,  the  same  more 
than  hinted  outlines  of  figure,  the  same  finely-shaped  arms 
and  hands,  and  something  very  like  the  same  features 
startled  her  by  their  identity  in  the  permanent  image  of 
the  canvas  and  the  fleeting  one  of  the  mirror. 

The  world  was  hers  then,  —  for  she  had  not  read  roman 
ces  and  love-letters  without  finding  that  beauty  governs 
it  in  all  times  and  places.  Who  was  this  middle-aged 


THE   GUABDIAN  ANGEL.  185 

minister  that  had  been  hanging  round  her  and  talking  to 
her  about  heaven,  when  there  was  not  a  single  joy  of  earth 
that  she  had  as  yet  tasted  ?  A  man  that  had  been  saying 
all  his  fine  things  to  Miss  Susan  Posey,  too,  had  he,  before 
he  had  bestowed  his  attentions  on  her  ?  And  to  a  dozen 
other  girls,  too,  nobody  knows  who  ! 

The  revulsion  was  a  very  sudden  one.  Such  changes  of 
feeling  are  apt  to  be  sudden  in  young  people  whose  nerves 
have  been  tampered  with,  and  Myrtle  was  not  of  a  temper 
ament  or  an  age  to  act  with  much  deliberation  where  a 
pique  came  in  to  the  aid  of  a  resolve.  Master  Gridley 
guessed  sagaciously  what  would  be  the  effect  of  his  revela 
tion,  when  he  (old  her  of  the  particular  attentions  the  min 
ister  had  paid  to  pretty  Susan  Posey  and  various  other 
young  women. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  had  parted  his  hair  wonderfully 
that  morning,  and  made  himself  as  captivating  as  his  pro 
fessional  costume  allowed.  He  had  drawn  down  the  shades 
of  his  windows  so  as  to  let  in  that  subdued  light  which  is 
merciful  to  crow's-feet  and  similar  embellishments,  and 
wheeled  up  his  sofa  so  that  two  could  sit  at  the  table  and 
read  from  the  same  book. 

At  eleven  o'clock  he  was  pacing  the  room  with  a  certain 
feverish  impatience,  casting  a  glance  now  and  then  at  the 
mirror  as  he  passed  it.  At  last  the  bell  rang,  and  he  him 
self  went  to  answer  it,  his  heart  throbbing  with  expectation 
of  meeting  his  lovely  visitor. 

Myrtle  Hazard  appeared  by  an  envoy  extraordinary,  the 
bearer  of  sealed  despatches.  Mistress  Kitty  Fagan  was 
the  young  lady's  substitute,  and  she  delivered  into  the  hand 
of  the  astonished  clergyman  the  following  missive  :  — 


186  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  To  THE  REV.  MR.  STOKER. 

"  REVEREND  SIR,  —  I  shall  not  come  to  your  study  this 
day.  I  do  not  feel  that  I  have  any  more  need  of  religious 
counsel  at  this  time,  and  I  am  told  by  a  friend  that  there 
are  others  who  will  be  glad  to  hear  you  talk  on  this  subject. 
I  hear  that  Mrs.  Hopkins  is  interested  in  religious  subjects, 
and  would  have  been  glad  to  see  you  in  my  company.  As 
I  cannot  go  with  her,  perhaps  Miss  Susan  Posey  will  take 
my  place.  I  thank  you  for  all  the  good  things  you  have 
said  to  me,  and  that  you  have  given  me  so  much  of  your 
company.  I  hope  we  shall  sing  hymns  together  in  heaven 
some  time,  if  we  are  good  enough,  but  I  want  to  wait  for 
that  awhile,  for  I  do  not  feel  quite  ready.  I  am  not  going 
to  see  you  any  more  alone,  reverend  sir.  I  think  this  is 
best,  and  I  have  good  advice.  I  want  to  see  more  of  young 
people  of  my  own  age,  and  I  have  a  friend,  Mr.  Gridley, 
who  I  think  is  older  than  you  are,  that  takes  an  interest  in 
me  ;  and  as  you  have  many  others  that  you  must  be  inter 
ested  in,  lie  can  take  the  place  of  a  father  better  than  you 
can  do.  I  return  to  you  the  hymn-book,  —  I  read  one  of 
those  you  marked,  and  do  not  care  to  read  any  more. 
"  Respectfully  yours, 

"  MYRTLE  HAZARD." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  uttered  a  cry  of  rage  as  he  finished 
this  awkwardly  written,  but  tolerably  intelligible  letter. 
What  could  he  do  about  it  ?  It  would  hardly  do  to  stab 
Myrtle  Hazard,  and  shoot  Byles  Gridley,  and  strangle 
Mrs.  Hopkins,  every  one  of  which  homicides  he  felt  at  the 
moment  that  he  could  have  committed.  And  here  he  was 
in  a  frantic  paroxysm,  and  the  next  day  was  Sunday,  and 
his  morning's  discourse  was  unwritten.  His  savage  medi- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  187 

aeval  theology  came  to  his  relief,  and  he  clutched  out  of  a 
heap  of  yellow  manuscripts  his  well-worn  "  convulsion-fit  " 
sermon.  Pie  preached  it  the  next  day  as  if  it  did  his 
heart  good,  but  Myrtle  Hazard  did  not  hear  it,  for  she 
had  gone  to  St.  Bartholomew's  with  Olive  Eveleth 


188  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

SAINT   AND    SINNER. 

IT  happened  a  little  after  this  time  that  the  minister's 
invalid  wife  improved  somewhat  unexpectedly  in  health, 
and,  as  Bathsheba  was  beginning  to  suffer  from  imprison 
ment  in  her  sick-chamber,  the  physician  advised  very 
strongly  that  she  should  vary  the  monotony  of  her  life 
by  going  out  of  the  house  daily  for  fresh  air  and  cheerful 
companionship.  She  was  therefore  frequently  at  the  house 
of  Olive  Eveleth ;  and  as  Myrtle  wanted  to  see  young  peo 
ple,  and  had  her  own  way  now  as  never  before,  the  three 
girls  often  met  at  the  parsonage.  Thus  they  became  more 
and  more  intimate,  and  grew  more  and  more  into  each  oth 
er's  affections. 

These  girls  presented  three  types  of  spiritual  character 
which  are  to  be  found  in  all  our  towns  and  villages.  Olive 
had  been  carefully  trained,  and  at  the  proper  age  confirmed. 
Bathsheba  had  been  prayed  for,  and  in  due  time  startled 
and  converted.  Myrtle  was  a  simple  daughter  of  Eve, 
with  many  impulses  like  those  of  the  other  two  girls,  and 
some  that  required  more  watching.  She  was  not  so  safe, 
perhaps,  as  either  of  the  other  girls,  for  this  world  or  the 
next ;  but  she  was  on  some  accounts  more  interesting,  as 
being  a  more  genuine  representative  of  that  inexperienced 
and  too  easily  deluded,  yet  always  cherished,  mother  of  our 
race,  whom  we  must  after  all  accept  as  embodying  the  cre 
ative  idea  of  woman,  and  who  might  have  been  alive  and 
happy  now  (though  at  a  great  age)  but  for  a  single  fatal 
error. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  189 

The  Rev.  Ambrose  Eveleth,  Rector  of  Saint  Bartholo 
mew's,  Olive's  father,  was  one  of  a  class  numerous  in  the 
Anglican  Church,  a  cultivated  man,  with  pure  tastes,  with 
simple  habits,  a  good  reader,  a  neat  writer,  a  safe  thinker, 
with  a  snug  and  well-fenced  mental  pasturage,  which  his 
sermons  kept  cropped  moderately  close  without  any  ex 
hausting  demand  upon  the  soil.  Olive  had  grown  insensibly 
into  her  religious  maturity,  as  into  her  bodily  and  intellect 
ual  developments,  which  one  might  suppose  was  the  natural 
order  of  things  in  a  well-regulated  Christian  household, 
where  the  children  are  brought  up  in  the  nurture  and  ad 
monition  of  the  Lord. 

Bathsheba  had  been  worried  over  and  perplexed  and 
depressed  with  vague  apprehensions  about  her  condition, 
conveyed  in  mysterious  phrases  and  graveyard  expressions 
of  countenance,  until  about  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  when 
she  had  one  of  those  emotional  paroxysms  very  commonly 
considered  in  some  Protestant  sects  as  essential  to  the 
formation  of  religious  character.  It  began  with  a  shiver 
ing  sense  of  enormous  guilt,  inherited  and  practised 
from  her  earliest  infancy.  Just  as  every  breath  she  ever 
drew  had  been  malignantly  poisoning  the  air  with  carbonic 
acid,  so  her  every  thought  and  feeling  had  been  tainting 
the  universe  with  sin.  This  spiritual  chill  or  rigor  had  in 
due  order  been  followed  by  the  fever-flush  of  hope,  and 
that  in  its  turn  had  ushered  in  the  last  stage,  —  the  free 
opening  of  all  the  spiritual  pores  in  the  peaceful  relaxation 
of  self-surrender. 

Good  Christians  are  made  by  many  very  different  pro 
cesses.  Bathsheba  had  taken  her  religion  after  the  fash 
ion  of  her  sect;  but  it  was  genuine,  in  spite  of  the  cavils 
of  the  formalists,  who  could  not  understand  that  the  spirit 


190  THE  GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

which  kept  her  at  her  mother's  bedside  was  the  same 
as  that  which  poured  the  tears  of  Mary  of  Magdala  on 
the  feet  of  her  Lord,  and  led  her  forth  at  early  dawn 
with  the  other  Mary  to  visit  his  sepulchre. 

Myrtle  was  a  child  of  nature,  and  of  course,  according 
to  the  out-worn  formulae  which  still  shame  the  distorted 
religion  of  humanity,  hateful  to  the  Father  in  Heaven 
who  made  her.  She  had  grown  up  in  antagonism  with  all 
that  surrounded  her.  She  had  been  talked  to  about  her 
corrupt  nature  and  her  sinful  heart,  until  the  words  had 
become  an  offence  and  an  insult.  Bathsheba  knew  her 
father's  fondness  for  young  company  too  well  to  suppose 
that  his  intercourse  with  Myrtle  had  gone  beyond  the 
sentimental  and  poetical  stage,  and  was  not  displeased 
when  she  found  that  there  was  some  breach  between 
them.  Myrtle  herself  did  not  profess  to  have  passed 
through  the  technical  stages  of  the  customary  spiritual 
paroxysm.  Still,  the  gentle  daughter  of  the  terrible 
preacher  loved  her  and  judged  her  kindly.  She  was 
modest  enough  to  think  that  perhaps  the  natural  state  of 
some  girls  might  be  at  least  as  good  as  her  own  after  the 
spiritual  change  of  which  she  had  been  the  subject.  A 
manifest  heresy,  but  not  new,  nor  unamiable,  nor  inex 
plicable. 

The  excellent  Bishop  Joseph  Hall,  a  painful  preacher 
and  solid  divine  of  Puritan  tendencies,  declares  that  he 
prefers  good-nature  before  grace  in  the  election  of  a  wife  ; 
because,  saith  he,  "  it  will  be  a  hard  Task,  where  the  Na 
ture  is  peevish  and  froward,  for  Grace  to  make  an  entire 
Conquest  whilst  Life  lasteth."  An  opinion  apparently 
entertained  by  many  modern  ecclesiastics,  and  one  which 
may  be  considered  very  encouraging  to  those  young  ladies 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  191 

of  the  politer  circles  who  have  a  fancy  for  marrying  bish 
ops  arid  other  fashionable  clergymen.  Not  of  course  that 
"  grace  "  is  so  rare  a  gift  among  the  young  ladies  of  the 
upper  social  sphere  ;  but  they  are  in  the  habit  of  using 
the  word  with  a  somewhat  different  meaning  from  that 
which  the  good  Bishop  attached  to  it. 


192  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE   VILLAGE    POET. 

IT  was  impossible  for  Myrtle  to  be  frequently  at  Olive's 
without  often  meeting  Olive's  brother,  and  her  reappear 
ance  with  the  bloom  on  her  cheek  was  a  signal  which  her 
other  admirers  were  not  likely  to  overlook  as  a  hint  to  re 
commence  their  flattering  demonstrations  ;  and  so  it  was 
that  she  found  herself  all  at  once  the  centre  of  attraction 
to  three  young  men  with  whom  we  have  made  some  ac 
quaintance,  namely,  Cyprian  Eveleth,  Gifted  Hopkins, 
and  Murray  Bradshaw. 

When  the  three  girls  were  together  at  the  house  of 
Olive,  it  gave  Cyprian  a  chance  to  see  something  of  Myr 
tle  in  the  most  natural  way.  Indeed,  they  all  became 
used  to  meeting  him  in  a  brotherly  sort  of  relation  ;  only, 
as  he  was  not  the  brother  of  two  of  them,  it  gave  him  the 
inside  track,  as  the  sporting  men  say,  with  reference  to 
any  rivals  for  the  good-will  of  either  of  these.  Of  course 
neither  Bathsheba  nor  Myrtle  thought  of  him  in  any 
other  light  than  as  Olive's  brother,  and  would  have  been 
surprised  with  the  manifestation  on  his  part  of  any  other 
feeling,  if  it  existed.  So  he  became  very  nearly  as  in 
timate  with  them  as  Olive  was,  and  hardly  thought  of  his 
intimacy  as  anything  more  than  friendship,  until  one  day 
Myrtle  sang  some  hymns  so  sweetly  that  Cyprian  dreamed 
about  her  that  night;  and  what  young  person  does  not 
know  that  the  woman  or  the  man  once  idealized  and  glori 
fied  in  the  exalted  state  of  the  imagination  belonging  to 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  193 

sleep  becomes  dangerous  to  the  sensibilities  in  the  waking 
hours  that  follow  ?  Yet  something  drew  Cyprian  to  the 
gentler  and  more  subdued  nature  of  Bathsheba,  so  that  he 
often  thought,  like  a  gayer  personage  than  himself,  whose 
divided  affections  are  famous  in  song,  that  he  could  have 
been  blessed  to  share  her  faithful  heart,  if  Myrtle  had  not 
bewitched  him  with  her  unconscious  and  innocent  sorcer 
ies.  As  for  poor,  modest  Bathsheba,  she  thought  nothing 
of  herself,  but  was  almost  as  much  fascinated  by  Myrtle. 
as  if  she  had  been  one  of  the  sex  she  was  born  to  make  in 
love  with  her. 

The  first  rival  Cyprian  was  to  encounter  in  his  admira 
tion  of  Myrtle  Hazard  was  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins.  This 
young  gentleman  had  the  enormous  advantage  of  that 
all-subduing  accomplishment,  the  poetical  endowment. 
No  woman,  it  is  pretty  generally  understood,  can  resist  the 
youth  or  man  who  addresses  her  in  verse.  The  thought 
that  she  is  the  object  of  a  poet's  love  is  one  which  fills  u 
woman's  ambition  more  completely  than  all  that  wealth  or 
office  or  social  eminence  can  offer.  Do  the  young  milliou- 
naires  and  the  members  of  the  General  Court  get  letters 
from  unknown  ladies,  every  day,  asking  for  their  auto 
graphs  and  photographs  ?  Well,  then  ! 

Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins,  being  a  poet,  felt  that  it  was  so, 
to  the  very  depth  of  his  soul.  Could  he  not  confer  that 
immortality  so  dear  to  the  human  heart?  Not  quite  yet, 
perhaps,  —  though  the  "  Banner  and  Oracle  "  gave  him  al 
ready  "  an  elevated  niche  in  the  Temple  of  Fame,"  to 
quote  its  own  words,  —  but  in  that  glorious  summer  of  his 
genius,  of  which  these  spring  blossoms  were  the  promise. 
It  was  a  most  formidable  battery,  then,  which  Cyprian's 
first  rival  opened  upon  the  fortress  of  Myrtle's  affections.-^!! 


194  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

His  second  rival,  Mr.  William  Murray  Braclshaw,  had 
made  a  half-playful  bet  with  his  fair  relative,  Mrs.  Clymer 
Ketchum,  that  he  would  bag  a  girl  within  twelve  months 
of  date  who  should  unite  three  desirable  qualities,  speci 
fied  in  the  bet,  in  a  higher  degree  than  any  one  of  the  five 
who  were  on  the  matrimonial  programme  which  she  had 
laid  out  for  him,  —  and  Myrtle  was  the  girl  with  whom 
he  meant  to  win  the  bet.  When  a  young  fellow  like  him, 
cool  and  clever,  makes  up  his  mind  to  bring  down  his 
bird,  it  is  no  joke,  but  a  very  serious  and  a  tolerably  cer 
tain  piece  of  business.  Not  being  made  a  fool  of  by 
any  boyish  nonsense,  —  passion  and  all  that,  —  he  has  a 
great  advantage.  Many  a  woman  rejects  a  man  because 
he  is  in  love  with  her,  and  accepts  another  because  he  is 
not.  The  first  is  thinking  too  much  of  himself  and  his 
emotions,  —  the  other  makes  a  study  of  her  and  her 
friends,  and  learns  what  ropes  to  pull.  But  then  it  must 
be  remembered  that  Murray  Braclshaw  had  a  poet  for  his 
rival,  to  say  nothing  of  the  brother  of  a  bosom  friend. 

The  qualities  of  a  young  poet  are  so  exceptional,  and 
such  interesting  objects  of  study,  that  a  narrative  like 
this  can  well  afford  to  linger  awhile  in  the  delineation  of 
this  most  envied  of  all  the  forms  of  genius.  And  by  con 
trasting  the  powers  and  limitations  of  two  such  young  per 
sons  as  Gifted  Hopkins  and  Cyprian  Eveleth,  we  may 
better  appreciate  the  nature  of  that  divine  inspiration 
which  gives  to  poetry  the  superiority  it  claims  over  every 
other  form  of  human  expression. 

Gifted  Hopkins  had  shown  an  ear  for  rhythm,  and  for 
the  simpler  forms  of  music,  from  his  earliest  childhood. 
He  began  beating  with  his  heels  the  accents  of  the  psalm- 
tunes  sung  at  meeting  at  a  very  tender  age,  —  a  habit, 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  195 

indeed,  of  which  he  had  afterwards  to  correct  himself,  as, 
though  it  shows  a  sensibility  to  rhythmical  impulses  like  that 
which  is  beautifully  illustrated  when  a  circle  join  hands  and 
emphasize  by  vigorous  downward  movements  the  leading 
syllables  in  the  tune  of  Auld  Lang  Syne,  yet  it  is  apt  to  be 
too  expressive  when  a  large  number  of  boots  join  in  the 
performance.  He  showed  a  remarkable  talent  for  playing 
on  one  of  the  less  complex  musical  instruments,  too  limited 
in  compass  to  satisfy  exacting  ears,  but  affording  excellent 
discipline  to  those  who  wish  to  write  in  the  simpler  metrical 
forms,  —  the  same  which  summons  the  hero  from  his  repose 
and  stirs  his  blood  in  battle. 

By  the  time  he  was  twelve  years  old  he  was  struck  with 
the  pleasing  resemblance  of  certain  vocal  sounds  which, 
without  being  the  same,  yet  had  a  curious  relation  which 
made  them  agree  marvellously  well  in  couples  ;  as  eyes  with 
skies  ;  as  heart  with  art,  also  with  part  and  smart ;  and  so 
of  numerous  others,  twenty  or  thirty  pairs,  perhaps,  which 
number  he  considerably  increased  as  he  grew  older,  until 
he  may  have  had  fifty  or  more  such  pairs  at  his  com 
mand. 

The  union  of  so  extensive  a  catalogue  of  words  which 
matched  each  other,  and  of  an  ear  so  nice  that  it  could  tell 
if  there  were  nine  or  eleven  syllables  in  an  heroic  line, 
instead  of  the  legitimate  ten,  constituted  a  rare  combination 
of  talents  in  the  opinion  of  those  upon  whose  judgment  he 
relied.  He  was  naturally  led  to  try  his  powers  in  the 
expression  of  some  just  thought  or  natural  sentiment  in 
the  shape  of  verse,  that  wonderful  medium  of  imparting 
thought  and  feeling  to  his  fellow-creatures  which  a  bounti- 

o  o 

ful  Providence  had  made  his  rare  and  inestimable  endow 
ment. 


19G  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

It  was  at  about  this  period  of  his  life,  that  is  to  say, 
when  he  was  of  the  age  of  thirteen,  or  we  may  perhaps  say 
fourteen  years,  for  we  do  not  wish  to  overstate  his  preco 
city,  that  he  experienced  a  sensation  so  entirely  novel,  that, 
to  the  best  of  his  belief,  it  was  such  as  no  other  young  per 
son  had  ever  known,  at  least  in  anything  like  the  same 
degree.  This  extraordinary  emotion  was  brought  on  by 
the  sight  of  Myrtle  Hazard,  with  whom  he  had  never 
before  had  any  near  relations,  as  they  had  been  at  different 
schools,  and  Myrtle  was  too  reserved  to  be  very  generally 
known  among  the  young  people  of  his  age. 

Then  it  was  that  he  broke  forth  in  his  virgin  effort, 

"  Lines  to  M e,"  which  were  published  in  the  village 

paper,  and  were  claimed  by  all  possible  girls  but  the  right 
one  ;  namely,  by  two  Mary  Annes,  one  Minnie,  one  Me- 
hitable,  and  one  Marthie,  as  she  saw  fit  to  spell  the  name 
borrowed  from  her  who  was  troubled  about  many  things. 

The  success  of  these  lines,  which  were  in  that  form  of 
verse  known  to  the  hymn-books  as  "  common  metre,"  was 
sucli  as  to  convince  the  youth  that,  whatever  occupation  he 
might  be  compelled  to  follow  for  a  time  to  obtain  a  liveli 
hood  or  to  assist  his  worthy  parent,  his  true  destiny  was 
the  glorious  career  of  a  poet.  It  was  a  most  pleasing  cir 
cumstance,  that  his  mother,  while  she  fully  recognized  the 
propriety  of  his  being  diligent  in  the  prosaic  line  of  busi 
ness  to  which  circumstances  had  called  him,  was  yet  as 
much  convinced  as  he  himself  that  he  was  destined  to 
achieve  literary  fame.  She  had  read  Watts  and  Select 
Hymns  all  through,  she  said,  and  she  did  n't  see  but  what 
Gifted  could  make  the  verses  come  out  jest  as  slick,  and 
the  sound  of  the  rhymes  jest  as  pooty,  as  Izik  Watts  or 
the  Selectmen,  whoever  they  was,  —  she  was  sure  they 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  197 

could  n't  be  the  selectmen  of  this  town,  wherever  they  be 
longed.  It  is  pleasant  to  say  that  the  young  man,  though 
favored  by  nature  with  this  rarest  of  talents,  did  not  forget 
the  humbler  duties  that  Heaven,  which  dresses  few  singing- 
birds  in  the  golden  plumes  of  fortune,  had  laid  upon  him. 
After  having  received  a  moderate  amount  of  instruction  at 
one  of  the  less  ambitious  educational  institutions  of  the 
town,  supplemented,  it  is  true,  by  the  judicious  and  gra 
tuitous  hints  of  Master  Gridley,  the  young  poet,  in  obedi 
ence  to  a  feeling  which  did  him  the  highest  credit,  relin 
quished,  at  least  for  the  time,  the  Groves  of  Academus, 
and  offered  his  youth  at  the  shrine  of  Plutus,  that  is,  left 
oif  studying  and  took  to  business.  He  became  what  they 
call  a  "  clerk  "  in  what  they  call  a  "  store  "  up  in  the 
huckleberry  districts,  and  kept  such  accounts  as  were 
required  by  the  business  of  the  establishment.  His  prin 
cipal  occupation  was,  however,  to  attend  to  the  details  of 
commerce  as  it  was  transacted  over  the  counter.  This 
industry  enabled  him,  to  his  great  praise  be  it  spoken,  to 
assist  his  excellent  parent,  to  clothe  himself  in  a  becoming 
manner,  so  that  he  made  a  really  handsome  figure  on  Sun 
days  and  was  always  of  presentable  aspect,  likewise  to 
1  urehase  a  book  now  and  then,  and  to  subscribe  for  that 
leading  periodical  which  furnishes  the  best  models  to  the 
youth  of  the  country  in  the  various  modes  of  composition. 

Though  Master  Gridley  was  very  kind  to  the  young 
man,  he  was  rather  disposed  to  check  the  exuberance  of 
his  poetical  aspirations.  The  truth  was,  that,  the  old  clas 
sical  scholar  did  not  care  a  great  deal  for  modern  English 
poetry.  Give  him  an  Ode  of  Horace,  or  a  scrap  from  the 
Greek  Anthology,  and  he  would  recite  it  with  great  infla 
tion  of  spirits  ;  but  he  did  not  think  very  much  of  "  your 


193  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

Keatses,  and  your  Tennysons,  and  the  whole  Hasheesh- 
crazy  lot,"  as  he  called  the  dreamily  sensuous  idealists  who 
belong  to  the  same  century  that  brought  in  ether  and  chlo 
roform.  He  rather  shook  his  head  at  Gifted  Hopkins  for 
indulging  so  largely  in  metrical  composition, 

"  Better  stick  to  your  ciphering,  my  young  friend,"  he 
said  to  him,  one  day.  "  Figures  of  speech  are  all  very 
well,  in  their  way  ;  but  if  you  undertake  to  deal  much  in 
them,  you  '11  figure  down  your  prospects  into  a  mighty 
small  .sum.  There  's  some  danger  that  it  will  take  all  the 
sense  out  of  you,  if  you  keep  writing  verses  at  this  rate. 
You  young  scribblers  think  any  kind  of  nonsense  will  do 
for  the  public,  if  it  only  has  a  string  of  rhymes  tacked  to  it. 
Cut  off  the  bobs  of  your  kite,  Gifted  Hopkins,  and  see  if  it 
does  n't  pitch,  and  stagger,  and  come  down  head-foremost. 
Don't  write  any  stuff  with  rhyming  tails  to  it  that  won't 
make  a  decent  show  for  itself  after  you  've  chopped  all  the 
rhyming  tails  off.  That 's  my  advice,  Gifted  Hopkins.  Is 
there  any  book  you  would  like  to  have  out  of  my  library  ? 
Have  you  ever  read  Spenser's  Faery  Queen  ?  " 

He  had  tried,  the  young  man  answered,  on  the  recom 
mendation  of  Cyprian  Eveleth,  but  had  found  it  rather 
hard  reading. 

Master  Gridley  lifted  his  eyebrows  very  slightly,  remem 
bering  that  some  had  called  Spenser  the  poet's  poet. 
"  What  a  pity,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  that  this  Gifted  Hop 
kins  has  n't  got  the  brains  of  that  William  Murray  Brad- 
shaw  !  What  's  the  reason,  I  wonder,  that  all  the  little 
earthen  pots  blow  their  covers  off  and  froth  over  in  rhymes 
at  such  a  great  rate,  while  the  big  iron  pots  keep  their  lids 
on,  and  do  all  their  simmering  inside  ?  " 

That  is  the  way  these  old  pedants  will  talk,  after  all 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  199 

their  youth  and  all  their  poetry,  if  they  ever  had  any,  are 
gone.  The  smiles  of  woman,  in  the  mean  time,  encouraged 
the  young  poet  to  smite  the  lyre.  Fame  beckoned:  him  up 
ward  from  her  templed  steep.  The  rhymes  which  rose 
before  him  unbidden  were  as  the  rounds  of  Jacob's  ladder, 
on  which  he  would  climb  to  a  heaven  of  glory. 

Master  Gridley  threw  cold  water  on  the  young  man's 
too  sanguine  anticipations  of  success.  "  All  up  with  the 
boy,  if  he  's  going  to  take  to  rhyming  when  he  ought  to  be 
doing  up  papers  of  brown  sugar  and  weighing  out  pounds 
of  tea.  Poor-house, —  that 's  what  it  '11  end  in.  Poets,  to 
be  sure  !  Sausage-makers  !  Empty  skins  of  old  phrases, 
—  stuff  'em  with  odds  and  ends  of  old  thoughts  that  never 
were  good  for  anything,  —  cut  'em  up  in  lengths  and  sell 
'em  to  fools  !  And  if  they  ain't  big  fools  enough  to  buy 
'em,  give  'em  away  ;  and  if  you  can't  do  that,  pay  folks  to 
take  'em.  Bah  !  what  a  fine  style  of  genius  common-sense 
is  !  There  's  a  passage  in  the  book  that  would  fit  half 
these  addle-headed  rhymesters.  What  is  that  saying  of 
mine  about  '  squinting  brains  '  ?  " 

He  took  down  "  Thoughts  on  the  Universe,"  and 
read  :  — 

"  Of  Squinting  Brains. 

"  Where  there  is  one  man  who  squints  with  his  eyes,  there 
are  a  dozen  who  squint,  with  their  brains.  It  is  an  infir 
mity  in  one  of  the  eyes,  making  the  two  unequal  in  power, 
tli at  makes  men  squint.  Just  so  it  is  an  inequality  in  the 
two  halves  of  the  brain  that  makes  some  men  idiots  and 
others  rascals.  IJinow  a  fellow  whose  right  half  is  a  genius, 
but  his  other  hemisphere,  belongs  to  a  fool ;  and  I  had  a 
friend  perfectly  honest  on  one  side,  but  who  was  sent  to 


200  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

jail  because  the  other  had  an  inveterate  tendency  in  the 
direction  of  picking  pockets  and  appropriating  ses  alie- 
nura." 

All  this,  talking  and  reading  to  himself  in  his  usual 
fashion. 

The  poetical  faculty  which  was  so  freely  developed. in 
Gifted  Hopkins  had  never  manifested  itself  in  Cyprian 
Evelet.li,  whose  look  and  voice  might,  to  a  stranger,  have 
seemed  more  likely  to  imply  an  imaginative  nature.  Cyp 
rian  was  dark,  slender,  sensitive,  contemplative,  a  lover 
of  lonely  walks,  —  one  who  listened  for  the  whispers  of 
Nature  and  watched  her  shadows,  and  was  alive  to  the 
symbolisms  she  writes  over  everything.  But  Cyprian  had 
never  shown  the  talent  or  the  inclination  for  writing  in 
verse. 

He  was  on  the  pleasantest  terms  with  the  young  poet, 
and  being  somewhat  older,  and  having  had  the  advantage 
of  academic  and  college  culture,  often  gave  him  useful 
hints  as  to  the  cultivation  of  his  powers,  such  as  genius 
frequently  requires  at  the  hands  of  humbler  intelligences. 
Cyprian  was  incapable  of  jealousy  ;  and  although  the  name 
of  Gifted  Hopkins  was  getting  to  be  known  beyond  the 
immediate  neighborhood,  and  his  autograph  had  been  re 
quested  by  more  than  one  young  lady  living  in  another 
county,  he  never  thought  of  envying  the  young  poet's 
spreading  popularity.  * 

That  the  poet  himself  was  flattered  by  these  marksVf 
public  favor  may  be  inferred  from  the  growing  confidence 
with  which  he  expressed  himself  in  his  conversations  with 
Cyprian,  more  especially  in  one  which  was  held  at  the 
"  store  "  where  he  officiated  as  "  clerk." 

"  I  become  more  and  more  assured,  Cyprian,"  he  said, 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  201 

leaning  over  the  counter,  "  that  I  was  born  to  be  a  poet. 
I  feel  it  in  my  marrow.  I  must  succeed.  I  must  win  the 
laurel  of  fame.  I  must  taste  the  sweets  of — " 

"  Molasses,"  said  a  bareheaded  girl  of  ten  who  entered 
at  that  moment,  bearing  in  her  hand  a  cracked  pitcher,  — 
"  ma  wants  three  gills  of  molasses." 

Gifted  Hopkins  dropped  his  subject  and  took  up  a  tin 
measure.  He, served  the  little  maid  with  a  benignity  quite 
charming  to  witness,  made  an  entry  on  a  slate  of  .08,  and 
resumed  the  conversation. 

"  Yes,  I  am  sure  of  it,  Cyprian.  The  very  last  piece  I 
wrote  was  copied  in  two  papers.  It  was  '  Contemplations 
in  Autumn,'  and  —  don't  think  I  am  too  vain  —  one  young 
lady  has  told  me  that  it  reminded  her  of  Pollok.  You 
never  wrote  in  verse,  did  you,  Cyprian  ?  " 

"  I  never  wrote  at  all,  Gifted,  except  school  and  college 
exercises,  and  a  letter  now  and  then.  Do  you  find  it  an 
easy  and  pleasant  exercise  to  make  rhymes  ?  " 

"  Pleasant !  Poetry  is  to  me  a  delight  and  a  passion. 
I  never  know  what  I  am  going  to  write  when  I  sit  down. 
And  presently  the  rhymes  begin  pounding  in  my  brain, 
— '•  it  seems  as  if  there  were  a  hundred  couples  of  them, 
paired  like  so  many  dancers,  —  and  then  these  rhymes 
seem  to  take  possession  of  me,  like  a  surprise  party, 
and  bring  in  all  sorts  of  beautiful  thoughts,  and  I  write 
and  write,  and  the  verses  run  measuring  themselves  out 
like  —  " 

"  Ribbins,  —  any  narrer  blue  ribbins,  Mr.  Hopkins  ? 
Five  eighths  of  a  yard,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Hopkins.  How  's 
your  folks  ?  "  Then,  in  a  lower  tone,  "  Those  last  verses 
of  yours  in  the  Bannernoracle  were  sweet  pooty." 

Gifted  Hopkins  meted  out  the  five  eighths  of  blue  ribbon 
9* 


202  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

by  the  aid  of  certain  brass  nails  on  the  counter.  He  gave 
good  measure,  not  prodigal,  for  he  was  loyal  to  his  employer, 
but  putting  a  very  moderate  strain  on  the  ribbon,  and  let 
ting  the  thumb-nail  slide  with  a  contempt  of  infinitesimals 
which  betokened  a  large  soul  in  its  genial  mood. 

The  young  lady  departed,  after  casting  upon  him  one  of 
those  bewitching  glances  which  the  young  poet  —  let  us 
rather  say  the  poet,  without  making  odious  distinctions  — 
is  in  the  confirmed  habit  of  receiving  from  dear  woman. 

Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins  resumed :  "  I  do  not  know  where 
this  talent,  as  my  friends  call  it,  of  mine,  comes  from.  My 
father  used  to  carry  a  chain  for  a  surveyor  sometimes,  and 
there  is  a  ten-foot  pole  in  the  house  he  used  to  measure 
land  with.  I  don't  see  why  that  should  make  me  a  poet. 
My  mother  was  always  fond  of  Dr.  Watts's  hymns  ;  but  so 
are  other  young  men's  mothers,  and  yet  they  don't  show 
poetical  genius.  But  wherever  I  got  it,  it  comes  as  easy 
to  me  to  write  in  verse  as  to  write  in  prose,  almost.  Don't 
you  ever  feel  a  longing  to  send  your  thoughts  forth  in  verse, 
Cyprian?" 

"  I  wish  I  had  a  greater  facility  of  expression  very 
often,"  Cyprian  answered  ;  "  but  when  I  have  my  best 
thoughts  I  do  not  find  that  I  have  words  that  seem  fitting 
to  clothe  them.  I  have  imagined  a  great  many  poems, 
Gifted,  but  I  never  wrote  a  rhyming  verse,  or  verse  of  any 
kind.  Did  you  ever  hear  Olive  play  '  Songs  without 
Words '  ?  If  you  have  ever  heard  her,  you  will  know 
what  I  mean  by  unrhymed  and  unversed  poetry." 

"  I  am  sure  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  Cyprian,  by 
poetry  without  rhyme  or  verse,  any  more  than  I  should  if 
you  talked  about  pictures  that  were  painted  on  nothing,  or 
statues  that  were  made  out  of  nothing.  How  can  you  tell 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  203 

that  anything  is  poetry,  I  should  like  to  know,  if  there  is 
neither  a  regular  line  with  just  so  many  syllables,  nor  a 
rhyme  ?  Of  course  you  can't,  /never  have  any  thoughts 
too  beautiful  to  put  in  verse:  nothing  can  be  too  beautiful 
for  it." 

Cyprian  left  the  conversation  at  this  point.  It  was  get 
ting  more  suggestive  than  interpenetrating,  and  he  thought 
he  might  talk  the  matter  over  better  with  Olive.  Just 
then  a  little  boy  came  in,  and  bargained  with  Gifted  for  a 
Jews-harp,  which,  having  obtained,  he  placed  against  his 
teeth,  and  began  playing  upon  it  with  a  pleasure  almost 
equal  to  that  of  the  young  poet  reciting  his  own  verses. 

"  A  little  too  much  like  my  friend  Gifted  Hopkins's 
poetry,"  Cyprian  said,  as  he  left  the  "  store."  "  All  in  one 
note,  pretty  much.  Not  a  great  many  tunes,  —  '  Hi  Betty 
Martin,'  '  Yankee  Doodle,'  and  one  or  two  more  like  them. 
But  many  people  seem  to  like  them,  and  I  don't  doubt  it  is 
as  exciting  to  Gifted  to  write  them  as  it  is  to  a  great  genius 
to  express  itself  in  a  poem." 

Cyprian  was,  perhaps,  too  exacting.  He  loved  too  well 
the  sweet  intricacies  of  Spenser,  the  majestic  and  subtly 
interwoven  harmonies  of  Milton.  These  made  him  impa 
tient  of  the  simpler  strains  of  Gifted  Hopkins. 

Though  he  himself  never  wrote  verses,  he  had  some 
qualities  which  his  friend  the  poet  may  have  undervalued 
in  comparison  with  the  talent  of  modelling  the  symmetries 
of  verse  and  adjusting  the  correspondences  of  rhyme.  He 
had  kept  in  a  singular  degree  all  the  sensibilities  of  child 
hood,  its  simplicity,  its  reverence.  It  seemed  as  if  nothing 
of  all  that  he  met  in  his  daily  life  was  common  or  unclean 
to  him,  for  there  was  no  mordant  in  his  nature  for  what 
was  coarse  or  vile,  and  all  else  he  could  not  help  idealizing 


204  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

into  its  own  conception  of  itself,  so  to  speak.  He  loved 
the  leaf  after  its  kind  as  well  as  the  flower,  and  the  root  as 
well  as  the  leaf,  and  did  not  exhaust  his  capacity  of  affec 
tion  or  admiration  on  the  blossom  or  bud  upon  which  his 
friend  the  poet  lavished  the  wealth  of  his  verse.  Thus 
Nature  took  him  into  her  confidence.  She  loves  the  men 
of  science  well,  and  tells  them  all  her  family  secrets,  — 
who  is  the  father  of  this  or  that  member  of  the  group,  who 
is  brother,  sister,  cousin,  and  so  on,  through  all  the  circle 
of  relationship.  But  there  are  others  to  whom  she  tells 
her  dreams  ;  not  what  species  or  genus  her  lily  belongs  to, 
but  what  vague  thought  it  has  when  it  dresses  in  white,  or 
what  memory  of  its  birthplace  that  is  which  we  call  its 
fragrance.  Cyprian  was  one  of  these.  Yet  he  was  not  a 
complete  nature.  He  required  another  and  a  wholly  dif 
ferent  one  to  be  the  complement  of  his  own.  Olive  came 
us  near  it  as  a  sister  could,  but  —  we  must  borrow  an  old 
image  —  moonlight  is  no  more  than  a  cold  and  vacant  glim 
mer  on  the  sun-dial,  which  only  answers  to  the  great  flaming 
orb  of  day.  If  Cyprian  could  but  find  some  true,  sweet-tem 
pered,  well-balanced  woman,  richer  in  feeling  than  in  those 
special  imaginative  gifts  which  made  the  outward  world  at 
times  unreal  to  him  in  the  intense  reality  of  his  own  inner 
life,  how  he  could  enrich  and  adorn  her  existence,  —  how 
she  could  direct  and  chasten  and  elevate  the  character  of 
all  his  thoughts  and  actions  ! 

"  Bathsheba,"  said  Olive,  ';  it  seems  to  me  that  Cyprian 
is  getting  more  and  more  fascinated  with  Myrtle  Hazard. 
He  has  never  got  over  the  fancy  he  took  to  her  when  he 
first  saw  her  in  her  red  jacket,  and  called  her  the  fire-hang- 
bird.  Would  n't  they  suit  each  other  by  and  by,  after 
Myrtle  has  come  to  herself  and  grown  into  a  beautiful  and 
noble  woman,  as  I  feel  sure  she  will  in  due  time  ?  " 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  205 

"  Myrtle  is  very  lovely,"  Bathsheba  answered  ;  "  but 
is  n't  she  a  little  too — flighty  —  for  one  like  your  brother? 
Cyprian  is  n't  more  like  other  young  men  than  Myrtle  is 
like  other  young  girls.  I  have  thought  sometimes  —  I 
wondered  whether  out-of-the-way  people  and  common  ones 
do  not  get  along  best  together.  Does  n't  Cyprian  want 
some  more  every-day  kind  of  girl  to  keep  him  straight  ? 
Myrtle  is  beautiful,  —  beautiful,  —  fascinates  everybody. 
Has  Mr.  Bradshaw  been  following  after  her  lately  ?  He 
is  taken  with  her  too.  Did  n't  you  ever  think  she  would 
have  to  give  in  to  Murray  Bradshaw  at  last  ?  He  looks 
to  me  like  a  man  that  would  hold  on  desperately  as  a 
lover." 

If  Myrtle  Hazard,  instead  of  being  a  half-finished  school 
girl,  hardly  sixteen  years  old,  had  been  a  young  woman  of 
eighteen  or  nineteen,  it  would  have  been  plain  sailing 
enough  for  Murray  Bradshaw.  But  he  knew  what  a  dis 
tance  their  ages  seemed  just  now  to  put  between  them,  — 
a  distance  which  would  grow  practically  less  and  less  with 
every  year,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  risk  anything  so  long 
as  there  was  no  danger  of  interference.  He  rather  en 
couraged  Gifted  Hopkins  to  write  poetry  to  Myrtle.  "  Go 
in,  Gifted,"  he  said,  "  there  's  no  telling  what  may  come  of 
it,"  —  and  Gifted  did  go  in  at  a  great  rate. 

Murray  Bradshaw  did  not  write  poetry  himself,  but  he 
read  poetry  with  a  good  deal  of  effect,  and  he  would  some 
times  take  a  hint  from  one  of  Gifted  Ilopkins's  last  pro 
ductions  to  recite  a  passionate  lyric  of  Byron  or  Moore, 
into  which  he  would  artfully  throw  so  much  meaning  that 
Myrtle  was  almost  as  much  puzzled,  in  her  simplicity,  to 
know  what  it  meant,  as  she  had  been  by  the  religious  fer 
vors  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker. 


206  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

He  spoke  well  of  Cyprian  Eveleth.  A  good  young 
man,  —  limited,  bat  exemplary.  Would  succeed  well  as 
rector  of  a  small  parish.  That  required  little  talent,  but 
a  good  deal  of  the  humbler  sort  of  virtue.  As  for  himself, 
he  confessed  to  ambition,  —  yes,  a  great  deal  of  ambition. 
A  failing,  he  supposed,  but  not  the  worst  of  failings.  He 
felt  the  instinct  to  handle  the  larger  interests  of  society. 
The  village  would  perhaps  lose  sight  of  him  for  a  time ; 
but  he  meant  to  emerge  sooner  or  later  in  the  higher 
spheres  of  government  or  diplomacy.  Myrtle  must  keep 
his  secret.  Nobody  else  knew  it.  He  could  not  help 
making  a  confidant  of  her,  —  a  thing  he  had  never  done 
before  with  any  other  person  as  to  his  plans  in  life.  Per 
haps  she  might  watch  his  career  with  more  interest  from 
her  acquaintance  with  him.  He  loved  to  think  that  there 
was  one  woman  at  least  who  would  be  pleased  to  hear  of 
his  success  if  he  succeeded,  as  with  life  and  health  he 
would,  —  who  would  share  his  disappointment  if  fate 
should  not  favor  him.  —  So  he  wound  and  wreathed  him 
self  into  her  thoughts. 

It  was  not  very  long  before  Myrtle  began  to  accept 
the  idea  that  she  was  the  one  person  in  the  world  whose 
peculiar  duty  it  was  to  sympathize  with  the  aspiring 
young  man  whose  humble  beginnings  she  had  the  honor 
of  witnessing.  And  it  is  not  very  far  from  being  the  soli 
tary  confidant,  and  the  single  source  of  inspiration,  to  the 
growth  of  a  livelier  interestj  where  a  young  man  and  a 
young  woman  are  in  question. 

Myrtle  was  at  this  time  her  own  mistress  .as  never  be 
fore.  The  three  young  men  had  access  to  her  as  she 
walked  to  and  from  meeting  and  in  her  frequent  rambles, 
besides  the  opportunities  Cyprian  had  of  meeting  her  in 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  207 

liis  sister's  company,  and  the  convenient  visits  which,  in 
connection  with  the  great  lawsuit,  Murray  Bradshaw  could 
make,  without  question,  at  The  Poplars. 

It  was  not  long  before  Cyprian  perceived  that  he  could 
never  pass  a  certain  boundary  of  intimacy  with  Myrtle. 
Very  pleasant  and  sisterly  always  she  was  with  him ;  but 
she  never  looked  as  if  she  might  mean  more  than  she  said, 
and  cherished  a  little  spark  of  sensibility  \vhich  might 
be  fanned  into  the  flame  of  love.  Cyprian  felt  this  so 
certainly  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  telling  his  grief  to 
Bathsheba,  who  looked  to  him  as  if  she  would  sympathize 
as  heartily  with  him  as  his  own  sister,  and  whose  sym 
pathy  would  have  a  certain  flavor  in  it,  —  something 
which  one  cannot  find  in  the  heart  of  the  dearest  sister 
that  ever  lived.  But  Bathsheba  was  herself  sensitive, 
and  changed  color  when  Cyprian  ventured  a  hint  or  two 
in  the  direction  of  his  thought,  so  that  he  never  got  so  far 
as  to  unburden  his  heart  to  her  about  Myrtle,  whom  she 
admired  so  sincerely  that  she  could  not  have  helped  feel 
ing  a  great  interest  in  his  passion  towards  her. 

As  for  Gifted  Hopkins,  the  roses  that  were  beginning 
to  bloom  fresher  and  fresher  every  day  in  Myrtle's  cheeks 
unfolded  themselves  more  and  more  freely,  to  speak  meta 
phorically,  in  his  song.  Every  week  she  would  receive  a 
delicately  tinted  note  with  lines  to  "  Myrtle  awaking,"  or 
to  "  Myrtle  retiring,"  (one  string  of  verses  a  little  too 
Musidora-ish,  and  which  soon  found  itself  in  the  condition 
of  a  cinder,  perhaps  reduced  to  that  state  by  spontaneous 
combustion,)  or  to  "  The  Flower  of  the  Tropics,"  or  to  the 
"  Nymph  of  the  River-side,"  or  other  poetical  alias,  such 
as  bards  affect  in  their  sieges  of  the  female  heart. 

Gifted  Hopkins  was  of  a  sanguine  temperament.     As 


208  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

he  read  and  re-read  his  verses  it  certainly  seemed  to  him 
that  they  must  reach  the  heart  of  the  angelic  being  to 
whom  they  were  addressed.  That  she  was  slo\v  in  con 
fessing  the  impression  they  made  upon  her,  was  a  favor 
able  sign  ;  so  many  girls  called  his  poems  "  sweet  pooty," 
that  those  charming  words,  though  soothing,  no  longer 
stirred  him  deeply.  Myrtle's  silence  showed  that  the  im 
pression  his  verses  had  made  was  deep.  Time  would 
develop  her  sentiments  ;  they  were  both  young  ;  his  posi 
tion  was  humble  as  yet ;  but  when  he  had  become  famous 
through  the  land  —  O  blissful  thought !  —  the  bard  of  Ox 
bow  Village  would  bear  a  name  that  any  woman  would  be 
proud  to  assume,  and  the  M.  H.  which  her  delicate  hands 
had  wrought  on  the  kerchiefs  she  wore  would  yet  perhaps 
be  read,  not  Myrtle  Hazard,  but  Myrtle  Hopkins ! 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  209 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


'  I  ^HERE  seems  no  reasonable  doubt  that  Myrtle  Hazard 
JL  might  have  made  a  safe  thing  of  it  with  Gifted  Hop 
kins,  (if  so  inclined,)  provided  that  she  had  only  been  se 
cured  against  interference.  But  the  constant  habit  of  read 
ing  his  verses  to  Susan  Posey  was  not  without  its  risk  to 
so  excitable  a  nature  as  that  of  the  young  poet.  Poets 
were  always  capable  of  divided  affections,  and  Cowley's 
"  Chronicle  "  is  a  confession  that  would  fit  the  whole  tribe 
of  them.  It  is  true  that  Gifted  had  no  right  to  regard 
Susan's  heart  as  open  to  the  wiles  of  any  new-comer.  He 
knew  that  she  considered  herself,  and  was  considered  by 
another,  as  pledged  and  plighted.  Yet  she  was  such  a 
devoted  listener,  her  sympathies  were  so  easily  roused,  her 
blue  eyes  glistened  so  tenderly  at  the  least  poetical  hint, 
such  as  "  Never,  O  never,"  "  My  aching  heart,"  "  Go,  let 
me  Aveep,"  —  any  of  those  touching  phrases  out  of  the  long 
catalogue  which  readily  suggests  itself,  —  that  her  influence 
was  getting  to  be  such  that  Myrtle  (if  really  anxious  to 
secure  him)  might  look  upon  it  with  apprehension,  and  the 
owner  of  Susan's  heart  (if  of  a  jealous  disposition)  might 
have  thought  it  worth  while  to  make  a  visit  to  Oxbow  Vil 
lage  to  see  after  his  property. 

It  may  seem  not  impossible  that  some  friend  had  sug 
gested  as  much  as  this  to  the  young  lady's  lover.  The 
caution  would  have  been  unnecessary,  or  at  least  pre 
mature.  Susan  was  loyal  as  ever  to  her  absent  friend. 


210  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Gifted  Hopkins  had  never  yet  presumed  upon  the  familiar 
relations  existing  between  them  to  attempt  to  shake  her 
allegiance.  It  is  quite  as  likely,  after  all,  that  the  young 
gentleman  about  to  make  his  appearance  in  Oxbow  Village 
visited  the  place  of  his  own  accord,  without  a  hint  from 
anybody.  But  the  fact  concerns  us  more  than  the  reason 
of  it,  just  now. 

"  Who  do  you  think  is  coming,  Mr.  Gridley  ?  Who  do 
you  think  is  coming?"  said  Susan  Posey,  her  face  covered 
with  a  carnation  such  as  the  first  season  may  see  in  a  city 
belle,  but  riot  the  second. 

"  Well,  Susan  Posey,  I  suppose  I  must  guess,  though  I 
am  rather  slow  at  that  business.  Perhaps  the  Governor. 
No,  I  don't  think  it  can  be  the  Governor,  for  you  would  n't 
look  so  happy  if  it  was  only  his  Excellency.  It  must  be 
the  President,  Susan  Posey, — President  James  Buchanan. 
Have  n't  I  guessed  right,  now,  tell  me,  my  dear  ?  " 

"  O  Mr.  Gridley,  you  are  too  bad,  —  what  do  I  care  for 
governors  and  presidents  ?  I  know  somebody  that 's  worth 
fifty  million  thousand  presidents,  —  and  he  's  coming,  — 
my  Clement  is  coming,"  said  Susan,  who  had  by  this  time 
learned  to  consider  the  awful  Byles  Gridley  as  her  next 
friend  and  faithful  counsellor. 

Susan  could  not  stay  long  in  the  house  after  she  got  her 
note  informing  her  that  her  friend  was  soon  to  be  with  her. 
Everybody  told  everything  to  Olive  Eveleth,  and  Susan 
must  run  over  to  the  Parsonage  to  tell  her  that  there  was 
a  young  gentleman  coming  to  Oxbow  Village  ;  upon  which 
Olive  asked  who  it  was,  exactly  as  if  she  did  not  know ; 
whereupon  Susan  dropped  her  eyes  and  said,  "Clement, — 
I  mean  Mr.  Lindsay." 

That  was  a  fair  piece  of  news  now,  and  Olive  had  her 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  211 

bonnet  on  five  minutes  after  Susan  was  gone,  and  was  on 
her  way  to  Bathsheba's,  —  it  was  too  bad  that  the  poor 
girl  who  lived  so  out  of  the  world  should  n't  know  anything 
of  what  was  going  on  in  it.  Bathsheba  had  been  in  all  the 
morning,  and  the  Doctor  had  said  she  must  take  the  air 
every  day  ;  so  Bathsheba  had  on  her  bonnet  a  little  after 
Olive  had  gone,  and  walked  straight  up  to  The  Poplars  to 
tell  Myrtle  Hazard  that  a  certain  young  gentleman,  Clem 
ent  Lindsay,  was  coming  to  Oxbow  Village. 

It  was  perhaps  fortunate  that  there  was  no  special  sig 
nificance  to  Myrtle  in  the  name  of  Clement  Lindsay. 
Since  the  adventure  which  had  brought  these  two  young 
persons  together,  and,  after  coming  so  near  a  disaster,  had 
ended  in  a  mere  humiliation  and  disappointment,  and  but 
for  Master  Gridley's  discreet  kindness  might  have  led  to 
foolish  scandal,  Myrtle  had  never  referred  to  it  in  any  way. 
Nobody  really  knew  what  her  plans  had  been  except  Olive 
and  Cyprian,  who  had  observed  a  very  kind  silence  about 
the  whole  matter.  The  common  version  of  the  story  was 
harmless,  and  near  enough  to  the  truth,  —  down  the  river, 
—  boat  upset,  —  pulled  out,  —  taken  care  of  by  some  wo 
men  in  a  house  farther  down,  —  sick,  brain  fever,  —  pretty 
near  it,  anyhow,  —  old  Dr.  Ilurlbut  called  in,  —  had  her 
hair  cut,  —  hystericky,  etc.,  etc. 

Myrtle  was  contented  with  this  statement,  and  asked  no 
questions,  and  it  was  a  perfectly  understood  thing  that  no 
body  alluded  to  the  subject  in  her  presence.  It  followed 
from  all  this  that  the  name  of  Clement  Lindsay  had  no 
peculiar  meaning  for  her.  Nor  was  she  like  to  recognize 
him  as  the  youth  in  whose  company  she  had  gone  through 
her  mortal  peril,  for  all  her  recollections  were  confused  and 
dreamlike  from  the  moment  when  she  awoke  and  found  her- 


212  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

self  in  the  foaming  rapids  just  above  the  fall,  until  that 
when  her  senses  returned,  and  she  saw  Master  Byles  Grid- 
ley  standing  over  her  with  that  look  of  tenderness  in  his 
square  features  which  had  lingered  in  her  recollection,  and 
made  her  feel  towards  him  as  if  she  were  his  daughter. 

Now  this  had  its  advantage  ;  for  as  Clement  was  Susan's 
young  man,  and  had  been  so  for  two  or  three  years,  it 
would  have  been  a  great  pity  to  have  any  such  curious 
relations  established  between  him  and  Myrtle  Hazard  as  a 
consciousness  on  both  sides  of  what  had  happened  would 
naturally  suggest. 

"  Who  is  this  Clement  Lindsay,  Bathsheba  ?  "  Myrtle 
asked. 

"  Why,  Myrtle,  don't  you  remember  about  Susan  Posey's 
is-to-be,  —  the  young  man  that  has  been  —  well,  I  don't 
know,  but  I  suppose  engaged  to  her  ever  since  they  were 
children  almost?" 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  remember  now.  O  dear !  I  have  forgotten 
so  many  things,  I  should  think  I  had  been  dead  and  was 
coming  back  to  life  again.  Do  you  know  anything  about 
him,  Bathsheba  ?  Did  n't  somebody  say  he  was  very  hand 
some  ?  I  wonder  if  he  is  really  in  love  with  Susan  Posey. 
Such  a  simple  thing!  I  want  to  see  him.  I  have  seen  so 
few  young  men." 

As  Myrtle  said  these  words,  she  lifted  the  sleeve  a 
little  on  her  left  arm,  by  a  half-instinctive  and  half-volun 
tary  movement.  The  glimmering  gold  of  Judith  Pride's 
bracelet  flashed  out  the  yellow  gleam  which  has  been  the 
reddening  of  so  many  hands  and  the  blackening  of  so  many 
souls  since  that  innocent  sin-breeder  was  first  picked  up 
in  the  land  of  Havilah.  There  came  a  sudden  light  into 
her  eye,  such  as  Bathsheba  had  never  seen  there  before. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  213 

It  looked  to  her  as  if  Myrtle  were  saying-  unconsciously 
to  herself  that  she  had  the  power  of  beauty,  and  would 
like  to  try  its  influence  on  the  handsome  young  man  whom 
she  was  soon  to  meet,  even  at  the  risk  of  unseating  poor 
little  Susan  in  his  affections.  This  pained  the  gentle  and 
humble-minded  girl,  who,  without  having  tasted  the  world's 
pleasures,  had  meekly  consecrated  herself  to  the  lowly 
duties  which  lay  nearest  to  her.  For  Bathsheba's  phrasing 
of  life  was  in  the  monosyllables  of  a  rigid  faith.  Her  con 
ceptions  of  the  human  soul  were  all  simplicity  and  purity, 
but  elementary.  She  could  not  conceive  the  vast  license 
the  creative  energy  allows  itself  in  mingling  the  instincts 
which,  after  long  conflict,  may  come  into  harmonious  ad 
justment.  The  flash  which  Myrtle's  eye  had  caught  from 
the  gleam  of  the  golden  bracelet  filled  Bathsheba  with 
a  sudden  fear  that  she  was  like  to  be  led  away  by  the 
vanities  of  that  world  lying  in  wickedness  of  which  the 
minister's  daughter  had  heard  so  much  and  seen  so  little. 

Not  that  Bathsheba  made  any  fine  moral  speeches  to 
herself.  She  only  felt  a  slight  shock,  such  as  a  word  or 
a  look  from  one  we  love  too  often  gives  us,  —  such  as  a 
child's  trivial  gesture  or  movement  makes  a  parent  feel,  — • 
that  impalpable  something  which  in  the  slightest  possible 
inflection  of  a  syllable  or  gradation  of  a  tone  will  some 
times  leave  a  sting  behind  it,  even  in  a  trusting  heart. 
This  was  all.  But  it  was  true  that  what  she  saw  meant  a 
great  deal.  It  meant  the  dawning  in  Myrtle  Hazard  of 
one  of  her  as  yet  unlived  secondary  lives.  Bathsheba's 
virgin  perceptions  had  caught  a  faint  early  ray  of  its  glim 
mering  twilight. 

She  answered,  after  a  very  .slight  pause,  which  this 
explanation  has  made  seem  so  long,  that  she  had  never 


214  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

seen  the  young  gentleman,  and  that  she  did  not  know 
about  Susan's  sentiments.  Only,  as  they  had  kept  so 
long  to  each  other,  she  supposed  there  must  be  love  be 
tween  them. 

Myrtle  fell  into  a  revery,  with  certain  tableaux  glowing 
along  its  perspectives  which  poor  little  Susan  Posey 
would  have  shivered  to  look  upon,  if  they  could  have  been 
transferred  from  the  purple  clouds  of  Myrtle's  imagina 
tion  to  the  pale  silvery  mists  of  Susan's  pretty  fancies. 
She  sat  in  her  day-dream  long  after  Bathsheba  had  left 
her,  her  eyes  fixed,  not  on  the  faded  portrait  of  her  beati 
fied  ancestress,  but  on  that  other  canvas  where  the  dead 
Beauty  seemed  to  live  in  all  the  splendors  of  her  full 
blown  womanhood. 

The  young  man  whose  name  had  set  her  thoughts  rov 
ing  was  handsome,  as  the  glance  at  him  already  given 
might  have  foreshadowed.  But  his  features  had  a  graver 
impress  than  his  age  seemed  to  account  for,  and  the  sober 
tone  of  his  letter  to  Susan  implied  that  something  had 
given  him  a  maturity  beyond  his  years.  The  story  was 
not  an  uncommon  one.  At  sixteen  he  had  dreamed  —  and 
told  his  dream.  At  eighteen  he  had  awoke,  and  found, 
as  he  believed,  that  a  young  heart  had  grown  to  his  so 
that  its  life  was  dependent  on  his  own.  Whether  it  would 
have  perished  if  its  filaments  had  been  gently  disentangled 
from  the  object  to  which  they  had  attached  themselves, 
experienced  judges  of  such  matters  may  perhaps  question. 
To  justify  Clement  in  his  estimate  of  the  danger  of  such 
an  experiment,  we  must  remember  that  to  young  people 
in  their  teens  a  first  passion  is  a  portentous  and  unpre 
cedented  phenomenon.  The  young  man  may  have  been 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  215 

mistaken  in  thinking  that  Susan  would  die  if  he  left  her, 
and  may  have  done  more  than  his  duty  in  sacrificing  him 
self;  but  if  so,  it  was  the  mistake  of  a  generous  youth, 
who  estimated  the  depth  of  another's  feelings  by  his  own. 
He  measured  the  depth  of  his  own  rather  by  what  he  felt 
they  might  be,  than  by  that  of  any  abysses  they  had  yet 
sounded. 

Clement  was  called  a  "  genius  "  by  those  who  knew  him, 
and  was  consequently  in  danger  of  being  spoiled  early. 
The  risk  is  great  enough  anywhere,  but  greatest  in  a  new 
country,  where  there  is  an  almost  universal  want  of  fixed 
standards  of  excellence. 

He  was  by  nature  an  artist ;  a  shaper  with  the  pencil 
or  the  chisel,  a  planner,  a  contriver  capable  of  turning  his 
hand  to  almost  any  work  of. eye  and  hand.  It  would  not 
have  been  strange  if  he  thought  he  could  do  everything, 
having  gifts  which  were  capable  of  various  application,  — 
and  being  an  American  citizen.  But  (hough  he  was  a 
good  draughtsman,  and  had  made  some  reliefs  and  mod 
elled  some  figures,  he  called  himself  only  an  architect. 
He  had  given  himself  up  to  his  art,  not  merely  from  a  love 
of  it  and  talent  for  it,  but  with  a  kind  of  heroic  devotion, 
because  he  thought  his  country  wanted  a  race  of  builders 
to  clothe  the  new  forms  of  religious,  social,  and  national 
life  afresh  from  the  forest,  the  quarry,  and  the  mine. 
Some  thought  he  would  succeed,  others  that  he  would  be 
a  brilliant  failure. 

"  Grand  notions, — grand  notions,"  the  master  with  whom 
he  studied  said.  "  Large  ground  plan  of  life,  —  splendid 
elevation.  A  little  wild  in  some  of  his  fancies,  perhaps, 
but  he  's  only  a  boy,  and  he  's  the  kind  of  boy  that  some 
times  grows  to  be  a  pretty  big  man.  Wait  and  see,  — 


216  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

wait  and  see.  He  works  days,  and  \ve  can  let  him  dream 
nights.  There's  a  good  deal  of  him,  anyhow."  His  fellow- 
students  were  puzzled.  Those  who  thought  of  their  calling 
as  a  trade,  and  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  they 
should  be  embodying  the  ideals  of  municipal  authorities 
in  brick  and  stone,  or  making  contracts  with  wealthy 
citizens,  doubted  whether  Clement  would  have  a  sharp 
eye  enough  for  business.  "  Too  many  whims,  you  know. 
All  sorts  of  queer  ideas  in  his  head,  —  as  if  a  boy  like  him 
was  going  to  make  things  all  over  again  !  " 

No  doubt  there  was  something  of  youthful  extravagance 
in  his  plans  and  expectations.  But  it  was  the  untamed 
enthusiasm  which  is  the  source  of  all  great  thoughts  and 
deeds,  —  a  beautiful  delirium  which  age  commonly  tames 
down,  and  for  which  the  cold  shower-bath  the  world  fur 
nishes  gratis  proves  a  pretty  certain  cure. 

Creation  is  always  preceded  by  chaos.  The  youthful 
architect's  mind  was  confused  by  the  multitude  of  sugges 
tions  which  were  crowding  in  upon  it,  and  which  he  had 
not  yet  had  time  or  developed  mature  strength  sufficient  to 
reduce  to  order.  The  young  American  of  any  freshness 
of  intellect  is  stimulated  to  dangerous  excess  by  the  con 
ditions  of  life  into  which  he  is  born.  There  is  a  double 
proportion  of  oxygen  in  the  New- World  air.  The  chemists 
have  not  found  it  out  yet,  but  human  brains  and  breathing- 
organs  have  long  since  made  the  discovery. 

Clement  knew  that  his  hasty  entanglement  had  limited 
his  possibilities  of  happiness  in  one  direction,  and  he  felt 
that  there  was  a  certain  grandeur  in  the  recompense  of 
working  out  his  defeated  instincts  through  the  ambitious 
medium  of  his  noble  art.  Had  not  Pharaohs  chosen  it 
to  proclaim  their  longings  for  immortality,  Caesars  their 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  217 

passion  for  pomp  and  luxury,  and  priests  to  symbolize 
their  conceptions  of  the  heavenly  mansions  ?  His  dreams 
were  on  a  grand  scale ;  such,  after  all,  are  the  best 
possessions  of  youth.  Had  he  but  been  free,  or  mated 
with  a  nature  akin  to  his  own,  he  would  have  felt  him 
self  as  truly  the  heir  of  creation  as  any  young  man  that 
lived.  But  his  lot  was  cast,  and  his  youth  had  all  the 
serious  aspect  to  himself  of  thoughtful  manhood.  In  the 
region  of  his  art  alone  he  hoped  always  to  find  freedom  and 
a  companionship  which  his  home  life  could  never  give  him. 
Clement  meant  to  have  visited  his  beloved  before  he  left 
Alderbank,  but  was  called  unexpectedly  back  to  the  city. 
Happily  Susan  was  not  exacting  ;  she  looked  up  to  him 
with  too  great  a  feeling  of  distance  between  them  to  dare 
to  question  his  actions.  Perhaps  she  found  a  partial  con 
solation  in  the  company  of  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins,  who  tried 
his  new  poems  on  her,  which  was  the  next  best  thing  to 
addressing  them  to  her.  "  Would  that  you  were  with  us 
at  this  delightful  season,"  she  wrote  in  the  autumn ;  "  but  no, 
your  Susan  must  not  repine.  Yet,  in  the  beautiful  words  of 
our  native  poet, 

'  O  would,  0  would  that  thou  wast  here, 
For  absence  makes  thee  doubly  dear  ;• 
Ah  !  what  is  life  while  thou  'rt  away  ? 
'T  is  night  without  the  orb  of  day  ! '  * 

The  poet  referred  to,  it  need  hardly  be  said,  was  our 
young  and  promising  friend  G.  II.,  as  he  sometimes  mod 
estly  signed  himself.  The  letter,  it  is  unnecessary  to  state, 
was  voluminous,  —  for  a  woman  can  tell  her  love,  or  other 
matter  of  interest,  over  and  over  again  in  as  many  forms 
as  another  poet,  not  G.  H.,  found  for  his  grief  in  ringing 
the  musical  changes  of  "  In  Memoriam." 
10 


218  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

The  answers  to  Susan's  letters  were  kind,  but  not  very- 
long.  They  convinced  her  that  it  was  a  simple  impossi 
bility  that  Clement  could  come  to  Oxbow  Village,  on 
account  of  the  great  pressure  of  the  work  he  had  to  keep 
him  in  the  city,  and  the  plans  he  must  finish  at  any  rate. 
But  at  last  the  work  was  partially  got  rid  of,  and  Clement 
was  coming ;  yes,  it  was  so  nice,  and,  O  dear !  should  n't 
she  be  real  happy  to  see  him  ? 

To  Susan  he  appeared  as  a  kind  of  divinity,  —  almost 
too  grand  for  human  nature's  daily  food.  Yet,  if  the  sim 
ple-hearted  girl  could  have  told  herself  the  whole  truth  in 
plain  words,  she  would  have  confessed  to  certain  doubts 
which  from  time  to  time,  and  oftener  of  late, x  cast  a  shadow 
on  her  seemingly  bright  future.  With  all  the  pleasure  that 
the  thought  of  meeting  Clement  gave  her,  she  felt  a  little 
tremor,  a  certain  degree  of  awe,  in  contemplating  his  visit. 
If  she  could  have  clothed  her  self-humiliation  in  the  gold 
and  purple  of  the  "  Portuguese  Sonnets,"  it  would  have 
been  another  matter  ;  but  the  trouble  with  the  most  com 
mon  sources  of  disquiet  is  that  they  have  no  wardrobe  of 
flaming  phraseology  to  air  themselves  in ;  the  inward 
burning  goes  on  without  the  relief  and  gratifying  display 
of  the  crater. . 

"  A  friend  of  mine  is  coming  to  the  village,"  she  said  to 
Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins.  "  I  want  you  to  see  him.  He  is  a 
genius,  —  as  some  other  young  men  are."  (This  was  ob 
viously  personal,  and  the  youthful  poet  blushed  with  ingen 
uous  delight.)  "  I  have  known  him  for  ever  so  many  years. 
He  and  I  are  very  good  friends."  The  poet  knew  that 
this  meant  an  exclusive  relation  between  them  ;  and  though 
the  fact  was  no  surprise  to  him,  his  countenance  fell  a 
little.  The  truth  was,  that  his  admiration  was  divided 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  219 

between  Myrtle,  who  seemed  to  him  divine  and  adorable, 
but  distant,  and  Susan,  who  listened  to  his  frequent  poems, 
whom  he  was  in  the  habit  of  seeing  in  artless  domestic 
costumes,  and  whose  attractions  had  been  gaining  upon 
him  of  late  in  the  enforced  absence  of  his  divinity. 

He  retired  pensive  from  this  interview,  and,  flinging 
himself  at  his  desk,  attempted  wreaking  his  thoughts  upon 
expression,  to  borrow  the  language  of  one  of  his  brother 
bards,  in  a  passionate  lyric  which  he  began  thus  :  — 

"  ANOTHER'S ! 
"  Another's  !     O  the  pang,  the  smart ! 

Fate  owes  to  Love  a  deathless  grudge,  — 
The  barbed  fang  has  rent  a  heart 

Which  —  which  — 

"judge  — judge,  —  no,  not  judge.  Budge,  drudge,  fudge  — 
What  a  disgusting  language  English  is  !  Nothing  fit  to 
couple  with  such  a  word  as  grudge  !  And  the  gush  of 
an  impassioned  moment  arrested  in  full  flow,  stopped  short, 
corked  up,  for  want  of  a  paltry  rhyme  !  Judge,  —  budge, 
—  drudge,  —  nudge,  —  oh  !  —  smudge,  —  misery  !  —  fudge. 
In  vain,  —  futile,  — no  use,  —  all  up  for  to-night !  " 

While  the  poet,  headed  off  in  this  way  by  the  poverty 
of  his  native  tongue,  sought  inspiration  by  retiring  into  the 
world  of  dreams,  —  went  to  bed,  in  short,  —  his  more 
fortunate  rival  was  just  entering  the  village,  where  he  was 
to  make  his  brief  residence  at  the  house  of  Deacon  Rumrill, 
who,  having  been  a  loser  by  the  devouring  element,  was 
glad  to  receive  a  stray  boarder  when  any  such  were  looking 
about  for  quarters. 

For  some  reason  or  other  he  was  restless  that  evening, 
and  took  out  a  volume  he  had  brought  with  him  to  beguile 
the  earlier  hours  of  the  night.  It  was  too  late  when  he 


220  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

arrived  to  disturb  the  quiet  of  Mrs.  Hopkins's  household  ; 
and  whatever  may  have  been  Clement's  impatience,  he 
held  it  in  check,  and  sat  tranquilly  until  midnight  over  the 
pages  of  the  book  with  which  he  had  prudently  provided 
himself. 

"  Hope  you  slept  well  last  night,"  said  the  old  Deacon, 
when  Mr.  Clement  came  down  to  breakfast  the  next  morn 
ing. 

"  Very  well,  thank  you,  —  that  is,  after  I  got  to  bed. 
But  I  sat  up  pretty  late  reading  my  favorite  Scott.  I  am 
apt  to  forget  how  the  hours  pass  when  I  have  one  of  his 
books  in  my  hand." 

The  worthy  Deacon  looked  at  Mr.  Clement  with  a 
sudden  accession  of  interest. 

"  You  could  n't  find  better  reading,  young  man.  Scott 
is  my  favorite  author.  A  great  man.  I  have  got  his  like 
ness  in  a  gilt  frame  hanging  up  in  the  other  room.  I  have 
read  him  all  through  three  times." 

The  young  man's  countenance  brightened.  He  had  not 
expected  to  find  so  much  taste  for  elegant  literature  in  an 
old  village  deacon. 

"  What  are  your  favorites  among  his  writings,  Deacon  ? 
I  suppose  you  have  your  particular  likings,  as  the  rest  of  us 
have." 

The  Deacon  was  flattered  by  the  question.  "  Well,"  he 
answered,  "  I  can  hardly  tell  you.  I  like  pretty  much 
everything  Scott  ever  wrote.  Sometimes  I  think  it  is  one 
thing,  and  sometimes  another.  Great  on  Paul's  Epistles, 
—  don't  you  think  so  ?  " 

The  honest  fact  was,  that  Clement  remembered  very 
little  about  "  Paul's  Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,"  —  a  book  of 
Sir  Walter's  less  famous  than  many  of  his  others  ;  but  lie 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  221 

signified  his  polite  assent  to  the  Deacon's  statement,  rather 
wondering  at  his  choice  of  a  favorite,  and  smiling  at  his 
queer  way  of  talking  about  the  Letters  as  Epistles. 

"  I  am  afraid  Scott  is  not  so  much  read  now-a-days  as 
he  once  was,  and  as  he  ought  to  be,"  said  Mr.  Clement. 
"  Such  character,  such  nature  and  so  much  grace  —  " 

"  That 's  it,  —  that 's  it,  young  man,"  the  Deacon  broke 
in,  —  "  Natur'  and  Grace,  —  Natur'  and  Grace.  Nobody 
ever  knew  better  what  those  two  words  meant  than  Scott 
did,  and  I  'm  very  glad  to  see  you  've  chosen  such  good 
wholesome  reading.  You  can't  set  up  too  late,  young  man, 
to  read  Scott.  If  I  had  twenty  children,  they  should  all 
begin  reading  Scott  as  soon  as  they  were  old  enough  to 
spell  *  sin,'  —  and  that  's  the  first  word  my  little  ones 
learned,  next  to  '  pa '  and  ;  ma.'  Nothing  like  beginning 
the  lessons  of  life  in  good  season." 

"  What  a  grim  old  satirist !  "  Clement  said  to  himself. 
"  I  wonder  if  the  old  man  reads  other  novelists.  —  Do  tell 
me,  Deacon,  if  you  have  read  Thackeray's  last  story  ?  " 

"  Thackery's  story  ?  Published  by  the  American  Tract 
Society?" 

"  Not  exactly,"  Clement  answered,  smiling,  and  quite 
delighted  to  find  such  an  unexpected  vein  of  grave  pleas 
antry  about  the  demure-looking  church-dignitary ;  for  the 
Deacon  asked  his  question  without  moving  a  muscle,  and 
took  no  cognizance  whatever  of  the  young  man's  tone  and 
smile.  First-class  humorists  are,  as  is  well  known,  remark 
able  for  the  immovable  solemnity  of  their  features.  Clem 
ent  promised  himself  not  a  little  amusement  from  the 
curiously  sedate  drollery  of  the  venerable  Deacon,  who,  it 
was  plain  from  his  conversation,  had  cultivated  a  literary 
taste  which  would  make  him  a  more  agreeable  companion 


222  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

than  the  common  ecclesiastics  of  his  grade  in  country  vil 
lages. 

After  breakfast,  Mr.  Clement  walked  forth  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Mrs.  Hopkins's  house,  thinking  as  he  went  of  the 
pleasant  surprise  his  visit  would  bring  to  his  longing  and 
'doubtless  pensive  Susan ;  for  though  she  knew  he  was 
coming,  she  did  not  know  that  he  was  at  that  moment  in 
Oxbow  Village. 

As  he  drew  near  the  house,  the  first,  thing  he  saw  was 
Susan  Posey,  almost  running  against  her  just  as  he  turned 
a  corner.  She  looked  wonderfully  lively  and  rosy,  for  the 
weather  was  getting  keen  and  the  fro.sts  had  begun  to  bite. 
A  young  gentleman  was  walking  at  her  side,  and  reading 
to  her  from  a  paper  he  held  in  his  hand.  Both  looked 
deeply  interested,  —  so  much  so  that  Clement  felt  half 
ashamed  of  himself  for  intruding  upon  them  so  abruptly. 

But  lovers  are  lovers,  and  Clement  could  not  help  join 
ing  them.  The  first  thing,  of  course,  was  the  utterance 
of  two  simultaneous  exclamations,  "  Why,  Clement ! " 
"  Why,  Susan  !  "  What  might  have  come  next  in  the  pro 
gramme,  but  for  the  presence  of  a  third  party,  is  matter 
of  conjecture ;  but  what  did  come  next  was  a  mighty  awk 
ward  look  on  the  part  of  Susan  Posey,  and  the  following 
short  speech :  — 

"  Mr.  Lindsay,  let  me  introduce  Mr.  Hopkins,  my  friend, 
the  poet  I  've  written  to  you  about.  He  was  just  reading 
two  of  his  poems  to  me.  Some  other  time,  Gifted  —  Mr. 
Hopkins." 

"  O  no,  Mr.  Hopkins^  —  pray  go  on,"  said  Clement. 
"  I  'm  very  fond  of  poetry." 

The  poet  did  not  require  much  urging,  and  began  at 
once  reciting  over  again  the  stanzas  which  were  afterwards 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL,  223 

so  much  admired  in  the  "  Banner  and  Oracle,"  —  the  first 
verse  being,  as  the  readers  of  that  paper  will  remem 
ber,  — 

"  She  moves  in  splendor,  like  the  ray 

That  flashes  from  unclouded  skies, 

And  all  the  charms  of  night  and  day 

Arc  mingled  in  her  hair  and  eyes." 

Clement,  who  must  have  been  in  an  agony  of  impatience 
to  be  alone  with  his  beloved,  commanded  his  feelings  ad 
mirably.  He  signified  his  approbation  of  the  poem  by 
saying  that  the  lines  were  smooth  and  the  rhymes  absolute 
ly  without  blemish.  The  stanzas  reminded  him  forcibly 
of  one  of  the  greatest  poets  of  the  century. 

Gifted  flushed  hot  with  pleasure.  He  had  tasted  the 
blood  of  his  own  rhymes ;  and  when  a  poet  gets  as  far  as 
that,  it  is  like  wringing  the  bag  of  exhilarating  gas  from 
the  lips  of  a  fejlow  sucking  at  it,  to  drag  his  piece  away 
from  him. 

"  Perhaps  you  will  like  these  lines  still  better/'  he  said ; 
u  the  style  is  more  modern  :  — 

*  O  daughter  of  the  spice'd  South, 

Her  bubbly  grapes  have  spilled  the  wine 
That  staineth  with  its  hue  divine 

The  red  flower  of  thy  perfect  mouth.'  " 

And  so  on,  through  a  series  of  stanzas  like  these,  with  the 
pulp  of  two  rhymes  between  the  upper  and  lower  crust  of 
two  others. 

Clement  was  cornered.  It  was  necessary  to  say  some 
thing  for  the  poet's  sake,  —  perhaps  for  Susan's  ;  for  she 
was  in  a  certain  sense  responsible  for  the  poems  of  a  youth 
of  genius,  of  whom  she  had  spoken  so  often  and  so  en 
thusiastically. 


224  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

"  Very  good,  Mr.  Hopkins,  and  a  form  of  verse  little 
used,  I  should  think,  until  of  late  years.  You  modelled 
this  piece  on  the  style  of  a  famous  living  English  poet,  did 
you  not  ? " 

"  Indeed  I  did  not,  Mr.  Lindsay,  —  I  never  imitate. 
Originality  is,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so  much  for  my 
self,  my  peculiar  forte.  Why,  the  critics  allow  as  much  as 
that.  See  here,  Mr.  Lindsay." 

Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins  pulled  out  his  pocket-book,  and, 
taking  therefrom  a  cutting  from  a  newspaper,  —  which 
dropped  helplessly  open  of  itself,  as  if  tired  of  the  process, 
being  very  tender  in  the  joints  or  creases,  by  reason  of 
having  been  often  folded  and  unfolded, — read  aloud  as 
follows  :  — 

"  The  bard  of  Oxbow  Village  —  our  valued  correspondent  who  writes  over  the 
signature  of  G.  H.  —  is,  in  our  opinion,  more  remarkable  for  his  originality  than 
for  any  other  of  his  numerous  gifts." 

Clement  was  apparently  silenced  by  this,  and  the  poet 
a  little  elated  with  a  sense  of  triumph.  Susan  could  not 
help  sharing  his  feeling  of  satisfaction,  and  without  mean 
ing  it  in  the  least,  nay,  without  knowing  it,  for  she  was  as 
simple  and  pure  as  new  milk,  edged  a  little  bit  —  the 
merest  infinitesimal  atom  —  nearer  to  Gifted  Hopkins,  who 
was  on  one  side  of  her,  while  Clement  walked  on  the  other. 
Women  love  the  conquering  party,  —  it  is  the  way  of  their 
sex.  And  poets,  as  we  have  seen,  are  wellnigh  irresistible 
when  they  exert  their  dangerous  power  of  fascination  up 
on  the  female  heart.  But  Clement  was  above  jealousy  ; 
and,  if  he  perceived  anything  of  this  movement,  took  no 
notice  of  it. 

He  saw  a  good  deal  of  his  pretty  Susan  that  day.  She 
was  tender  in  her  expressions  and  manners  as  usual,  but 
there  was  a  little  something  in  her  looks  and  language 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  225 

from  time  to  time  that  Clement  did  not  know  exactly  what 
to  make  of.  She  colored  once  or  twice  when  the  young 
poet's  name  was  mentioned.  She  was  not  so  full  of  her 
little  plans  for  the  future  as  she  had  sometimes  been, 
"  everything  was  so  uncertain,"  she  said.  Clement  asked 
himself  whether  she  felt  quite  as  sure  that  her  attachment 
would  last  as  she  once  did.  But  there  were  no  reproaches, 
not  even  any  explanations,  which  are  about  as  bad  between 
lovers.  There  was  nothing  but  an  undefined  feeling  on 
his  side  that  she  did  not  cling  quite  so  closely  to  him,  per 
haps,  as  he  had  once  thought,  and  that,  if  he  had  hap 
pened  to  have  been  drowned  that  day  when  he  went  down 
with  the  beautiful  young  woman,  it  was  just  conceivable 
that  Susan,  who  would  have  cried  dreadfully,  no  doubt, 
would  in  time  have  listened  to  consolation  from  some  other 
young  man,  —  possibly  from  the  young  poet  whose  verses 
he  had  been  admiring.  Easy-crying  widows  take  new 
husbands  soonest ;  there  is  nothing  like  wet  weather  for 
transplanting,  as  Master  Gridley  used  to  say.  Susan  had 
a  fluent  natural  gift  for  tears,  as  Clement  well  knew,  after 
the  exercise  of  which  she  used  to  brighten  up  like  the  rose 
which  had  been  washed,  just  washed  in  a  shower,  men 
tioned  by  Cowper. 

As  for  the  poet,  he  learned  more  of  his  own  sentiments 
during  this  visit  of  Clement's  than  he  had  ever  before 
known.  He  wandered  about  with  a  dreadfully  disconsolate 
look  upon  his  countenance.  He  showed  a  falling-off  in 
his  appetite  at  tea-time,  which  surprised  and  disturbed  his 
mother,  for  she  had  filled  the  house  with  fragrant  sugges 
tions  of  good  things  coming,  in  honor  of  Mr.  Lindsay, 
who  was  to  be  her  guest,  at  tea.  And  chiefly  the  genteel 
form  of  doughnut  called  in  the  native  dialect  cymbal  (  Qu. 
10*  o 


226  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Symbol  ?  B.  G.)  which  graced  the  board  with  its  plastic 
forms,  suggestive  of  the  most  pleasing  objects,  —  the  spiral 
ringlets  pendent  from  the  brow  of  beauty,  —  the  magic 
circlet,  which  is  the  pledge  of  plighted  affection,  —  the 
indissoluble  knot,  which  typifies  the  union  of  hearts,  which 
organs  were  also  largely  represented ;  this  exceptional 
delicacy  would  at  any  other  time  have  claimed  his  special 
notice.  But  his  mother  remarked  that  he  paid  little  atten 
tion  to  these,  and  his,  "  No,  I  thank  you,"  when  it  came  to 
the  preserved  "  damsels,"  as  some  call  them,  carried  a 
pang  with  it  to  the  maternal  bosom.  The  most  touching 
evidence  of  his  unhappiness  —  whether  intentional  or  the 
result  of  accident  was  not  evident  —  was  a  broken  heart, 
which  he  left  upon  his  plate,  the  meaning  of  which  was  as 
plain  as  anything  in  the  language  of  flowers.  His  thoughts 
were  gloomy  during  that  day,  running  a  good  deal  on  the 
more  picturesque  and  impressive  methods  of  bidding  a 
voluntary  farewell  to  a  world  which  had  allured  him  with 
visions  of  beauty  only  to  snatch  them  from  his  impassioned 
gaze.  His  mother  saw  something  of  this,  and  got  from 
him  a  few  disjointed  words,  which  led  her  to  lock  up  the 
clothes-line  and  hide  her  late  husband's  razors,  —  an  affec 
tionate,  yet  perhaps  unnecessary  precaution,  for  self-elimi 
nation  contemplated  from  this  point  of  view  by  those  who 
have  the  natural  outlet  of  verse  to  relieve  them  is  rarely 
followed  by  a  casualty.  It  may  rather  be  considered 
as  implying  a  more  than  average  chance  for  longevity  ;  as 
those  who  meditate  an  imposing  finish  naturally  save  them 
selves  for  it,  and  are  therefore  careful  of  their  health  until 
the  time  comes,  and  this  is  apt  to  be  indefinitely  postponed 
so  long  as  there  is  a  poem  to  write  or  a  proof  to  be  cor 
rected. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  227 

CHAPTER    XX. 

THE     SECOND     MEETING. 

*  TV  /TISS  EVELETH  requests   the   pleasure  of  Mr. 

JLV  J.  Lindsay's  company  to  meet  a  few  friends  on  the 
evening  of  the  Feast  of  St.  Ambrose,  December  7th, 
Wednesday. 

"  THE  PARSONAGE,  December  6th." 

It  was  the  luckiest  thing  in  the  world.  They  always 
made  a  little  festival  of  that  evening  at  the  Rev.  Ambrose 
Eveleth's,  in  honor  of  his  canonized  namesake,  and  be 
cause  they  liked  to  have  a  good  time.  It  came  this  year 
just  at  the  right  moment,  for  here  was  a  distinguished 
stranger  visiting  in  the  place.  Oxbow  Village  seemed  to 
be  running  over  with  its  one  extra  young  man,  —  as  may 
be  seen  sometimes  in  larger  villages,  and  even  in  cities  of 
moderate  dimensions. 

Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  had  called  on  Clement 
the  day  after  his  arrival.  He  had  already  met  the  Dea 
con  in  the  street,  and  asked  some  questions  about  his 
transient  boarder. 

A  very  interesting  young  man,  the  Deacon  said,  much 
given  to  the  reading  of  pious  books.  Up  late  at  night 
after  he  came,  reading  Scott's  Commentary.  Appeared 
to  be  as  fond  of  serious  works  as  other  young  folks  were 
of  their  novels  and  romances  and  other  immoral  publica 
tions.  He,  the  Deacon,  thought  of  having  a  few  religious 
friends  to  meet  the  young  gentleman,  if  he  felt  so  disposed; 
and  should  like  to  have  him,  Mr.  Bradshaw,  come  in  and 


228  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

take  a  part  in  the  exercises.  —  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  unfortu 
nately  engaged.  He  thought  the  young  gentleman  could 
hardly  find  time  for  such  a  meeting  during  his  brief  visit. 

Mr.  Bradshaw  expected  naturally  to  see  a  youth  of  im 
perfect  constitution,  and  cachectic  or  dyspeptic  tendencies, 
who  was  in  training  to  furnish  one  of  those  biographies 
beginning  with  the  statement  that,  from  his  infancy,  the 
subject  of  it  showed  no  inclination  for  boyish  amusements, 
and  so  on,  until  he  dies  out,  for  the  simple  reason  that  there 
was  not  enough  of  him  to  live.  Very  interesting,  no 
doubt,  Master  Byles  Gridley  would  have  said,  but  had  no 
more  to  do  with  good,  hearty,  sound  life  than  the  history 
of  those  very  little  people  to  be  seen  in  museums  pre 
served  in  jars  of  alcohol,  like  brandy  peaches. 

"When  Mr.  Clement  Lindsay  presented  himself,  Mr. 
Bradshaw  was  a  good  deal  surprised  to  see  a  young  fellow 
of  such  a  mould.  He  pleased  himself  with  the  idea  that 
he  knew  a  man  of  mark  at  sight,  and  he  set  down  Clement 
in  that  category  at  his  first  glance.  The  young  man  met 
his  penetrating  and  questioning  look  with  a  frank,  in 
genuous,  open  aspect,  before  which  he  felt  himself  disarmed, 
as  it  were,  and  thrown  upon  other  means  of  analysis.  He 
would  try  him  a  little  in  talk. 

"  I  hope  you  like  these  people  you  are  with.  What  sort 
of  a  man  do  you  find  my  old  friend  the  Deacon  ?  " 

Clement  laughed.  "  A  very  queer  old  character.  Loves 
his  joke  as  well,  and  is  as  sly  in  making  it,  as  if  he  had 
studied  Joe  Miller  instead  of  the  Catechism." 

Mr.  Bradshaw  looked  at  the  young  man  to  know  what 
he  meant.  Mr  Lindsay  talked  in  a  very  easy  way  for  a 
serious  young  person.  He  was  puzzled.  He  did  not  see 
to  the  bottom  of  this  description  of  the  Deacon.  With 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  229 

a  lawyer's  instinct,  he  kept  his  doubts  to  himself  and  tried 
his  witness  with  a  new  question. 

"  Did  you  talk  about  books  at  all  with  the  old  man  ?  " 

"  To  be  sure  I  did.  Would  you  believe  it,  —  that  aged 
saint  is  a  great  novel-reader.  So  he  tells  me.  What  is 
more,  he  brings  up  his  children  to  that  sort  of  reading, 
from  the  time  when  they  first  begin  to  spell.  If  anybody 
else  had  told  me  such  a  story  about  an  old  country  deacon, 
I  would  n't  have  believed  it ;  but  he  said  so  himself,  to  me, 
at  breakfast  this  morning." 

Mr  Bradshaw  felt  as  if  either  he  or  Mr.  Lindsay  must 
certainly  be  in  the  first  stage  of  mild  insanity,  and  he  did 
not  think  that  he  himself  could  be  out  of  his  wits.  He 
must  try  one  more  question.  He  had  become  so  mystified 
that  he  forgot  himself,  and  began  putting  his  interrogation 
in  legal  form. 

"  Will  you  state,  if  you  please  —  I  beg  your  pardon  — 
may  I  ask  who  is  your  own  favorite  author  ?  " 

"  I  think  just  now  I  like  to  read  Scott  better  than 
almost  anybody." 

"  Do  you  mean  the  Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  author  of  the 
Commentary  ?  " 

Clement  stared  at  Mr.  Bradshaw,  and  wondered  whether 
he  was  trying  to  make  a  fool  of  him.  The  young  lawyer 
hardly  looked  as  if  he  could  be  a  fool  himself. 

"  I  mean  Sir  Walter  Scott."  he  said,  dryly. 

"  Oh !  "  said  Mr.  Bradshaw.  He  saw  that  there  had 
been  a  slight  misunderstanding  between  the  young  man 
and  his  worthy  host,  but  it  was  none  of  his  business,  and 
there  were  other  subjects  of  interest  to  talk  about. 

"  You  know  one  of  our  charming  young  ladies  very  well, 
I  believe,  Mr  Lindsay.  I  think  you  are  an  old  acquaint 
ance  of  Miss  Posey,  whom  we  all  consider  so  pretty." 


230  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

Poor  Clement !  The  question  pierced  to  the  very  mar 
row  of  his  soul,  but  it  was  put  with  the  utmost  suavity 
and- courtesy,  and  honeyed  with  a  compliment  to  the  young 
lady,  too,  so  that  there  was  no  avoiding  a  direct  and  pleas 
ant  answer  to  it. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  have  known  the  young  lady  you 
speak  of  for  a  long  time,  and  very  well,  —  in  fact,  as  you 
must  have  heard,  we  are  something  more  than  friends.  My 
visit  here  is  principally  on  her  account ! " 

"  You  must  give  the  rest  of  us  a  chance  to  see  some 
thing  of  you  during  your  visit,  Mr.  Lindsay.  I  hope  you 
are  invited  to  Miss  Eveleth's  to-morrow  evening?" 

"  Yes,  I  got  a  note  this  morning.  Tell  me,  Mr.  Brad- 
shaw,  who  is  there  that  I  shall  meet  if  I  go  ?  I  have  no 
doubt  there  are  girls  here  in  the  village  I  should  like  to 
see,  and  perhaps  some  young  fellows  that  I  should  like 
to  talk  with.  You  know  all  that 's  prettiest  and  pleasant- 
est,  of  course." 

"  O,  we  're  a  little  place,  Mr.  Lindsay.  A  few  nice 
people,  the  rest  comme  fa,  you  know.  High-bush  black 
berries  and  low-bush  blackberries,  —  you  understand,  — 
just  so  everywhere,  —  high-bush  here  and  there,  low-bush 
plenty.  You  must  see  the  two  parsons'  daughters, — 
Saint  Ambrose's  and  Saint  Joseph's.  —  and  another  girl  I 
want  particularly  to  introduce  you  to.  You  shall  form 
your  own  opinion  of  her.  /call  her  handsome  and  stylish, 
but  you  have  got  spoiled,  you  know.  Our  young  poet,  too, 
one  we  raised  in  this  place,  Mr.  Lindsay,  and  a  superior 
article  *of  poet,  as  we  think,  —  that  is,  some  of  us,  for  the 
rest  of  us  are  jealous  of  him,  because  the  girls  are  all 
dying  for  him  and  want  his  autograph.  —  And  Cyp,  — 
yes,  you  must  talk  to  Cyp,  —  he  has  ideas.  But  don't 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  231 

forget  to  get  hold  of  old  Byles  —  Master  Gridley  I  mean 
—  before  you  go.  Big  head.  Brains  enough  for  a  cabi 
net  minister,  and  fit  out  a  college  faculty  with  what  was 
left  over.  Be  sure  you  see  old  Byles.  Set  him  talking 
about  his  book,  —  *  Thoughts  on  the  Universe.'  Did  n't 
sell  much,  but  has  got  knowing  things  in  it.  I  '11  show 
you  a  copy,  and  then  you  can  tell  him  you  know  it,  and  he 
will  take  to  you.  Come  in  and  get  your  dinner  with  me 
to-morrow-  We  will  dine  late,  as  the  city  folks  do,  and 
after  that  we  will  go  over  to  the  Rector's.  I  should  like 
to  show  you  some  of  our  village  people. 

Mr.  Bradshaw  liked  the  thought  of  showing  the  young 
man  to  some  of  his  friends  there.  As  Clement  was  already 
"  done  for,"  or  "  bowled  out,"  as  the  young  lawyer  would 
have  expressed  the  fact  of  his  being  pledged  in  the  matri 
monial  direction,  there  was  nothing  to  be  apprehended  on 
the  score  of  rivalry.  And  although  Clement  was  particu 
larly  good-looking,  and  would  have  been  called  a  distin 
guishable  youth  anywhere,  Mr.  Bradshaw  considered  him 
self  far  more  than  his  match,  in  all  probability,  in  social 
accomplishments.  He  expected,  therefore,  a  certain  amount 
of  reflex  credit  for  bringing  such  a  fine  young  fellow  in  his 
company,  and  a  second  instalment  of  reputation  from  out 
shining  him  in  conversation.  This  was  rather  nice  calcu 
lating,  but  Murray  Bradshaw  always  calculated.  With 
most  men  life  is  like  backgammon,  half  skill,  and  half  luck, 
but  with  him  it  was  like  chess.  He  never  pushed  a  pawn 
without  reckoning  the  cost,  and  when  his  mind  was  least 
busy  it  was  sure  to  be  half  a  dozen  moves  ahead  of  the 
game  as  it  was  standing. 

Mr.  Bradshaw  gave  Clement  a  pretty  dinner  enough  for 
such  a  place  as  Oxbow  Village.  He  offered  him  some 


232  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

good  wine,  and  would  have  made  him  talk  so  as  to  show 
his  lining,  to  use  one  of  his  own  expressions,  but  Clement 
had  apparently  been  through  that  trifling  experience,  and 
could  not  be  coaxed  into  saying  more  than  he  meant  to 
say.  Murray  Bradshaw  was  very  curious  to  find  out  how 
it  was  that  he  had  become  the  victim  of  such  a  rudimen 
tary  miss  as  Susan  Posey.  Could  she  be  an  heiress  in 
disguise  ?  Why  no,  of  course  not ;  had  not  he  made  all 
proper  inquiries  about  that  when  Susan  came  to  town  ?  A 
small  inheritance  from  an  aunt  or  uncle,  or  some  such  rela 
tive,  enough  to  make  her  a  desirable  party  in  the  eyes  of 
certain  villagers  perhaps,  but  nothing  to  allure  a  man  like 
this,  whose  face  and  figure  as  marketable  possessions  were 
worth  say  a  hundred  thousand  in  the  girl's  own  right,  as 
Mr.  Bradshaw  put  it  roughly,  with  another  hundred  thou 
sand  if  his  talent  is  what  some  say,  and  if  his  connection  is 
a  desirable  one,  a  fancy  price,  —  anything  he  would  fetch. 
Of  course  not.  Must  have  got  caught  when  he  was  a  child. 
Why  the  diavolo  did  n't  he  break  it  off,  then  ? 

There  was  no  fault  to  find  with  the  modest  entertainment 
at  the  Parsonage.  A  splendid  banquet  in  a  great  house  is 
an  admirable  thing,  provided  always  its  getting  up  did  not 
cost  the  entertainer  an  inward  conflict,  nor  its  recollection 
a  twinge  of  economical  regret,  nor  its  bills  a  cramp  of  anxi 
ety.  A  simple  evening  party  in  the  smallest  village  is 
just  as  admirable  in  its  degree,  when  the  parlor  is  cheer 
fully  lighted,  and  the  board  prettily  spread,  and  the  guests 
are  made  to  feel  comfortable  without  being  reminded  that 
anybody  is  making  a  painful  effort. 

We  know  several  of  the  young  people  who  were  there, 
and  need  not  trouble  ourselves  for  the  others.  Myrtle 
Hazard  had  promised  to  come.  She  had  her  own  way  of 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  233 

late  as  never  before  ;  in  fact,  the  women  were  afraid  of  her. 
Miss  Silence  felt  that  she  could  not  be  responsible  for  her 
any  longer.  She  had  hopes  for  a  time  that  Myrtle  would 
go  through  the  customary  spiritual  paroxysm  under  the 
influence  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker's  assiduous  exhortations  ; 
but  since  she  had  broken  off  with  him,  Miss  Silence  had 
looked  upon  her  as  little  better  than  a  backslider.  And 
now  that  the  girl  was  beginning  to  show  the  tendencies 
which  seemed  to  come  straight  down  to  her  from  the  belle 
of  the  last  century,  (whose  rich  physical  developments 
seemed  to  the  under-vitalized  spinster  as  in  themselves  a 
kind  of  offence  against  propriety,)  the  forlorn  woman  folded 
her  thin  hands  and  looked  on  hopelessly,  hardly  venturing 
a  remonstrance  for  fear  of  some  new  explosion.  As  for 
Cynthia,  she  was  comparatively  easy  since  she  had,  through 
Mr.  Byles  Gridley,  upset  the  minister's  questionable  ar 
rangement  of  religious  intimacy.  She  had,  in  fact,  in  a 
quiet  way,  given  Mr.  Bradshaw  to  understand  that  he  would 
probably  meet  Myrtle  at  the  Parsonage  if  he  dropped  in  at 
their  small  gathering. 

Clement  walked  over  to  Mrs.  Hopkins's  after  his  dinner 
with  the  young  lawyer,  and  asked  if  Susan  was  ready  to 
go  with  him.  At  the  sound  of  his  voice,  Gifted  Hopkins 
smote  his  forehead,  and  called  himself,  in  subdued  tones,  a 
miserable  being.  His  imagination  wavered  uncertain  for 
a  while  between  pictures  of  various  modes  of  ridding  him 
self  of  existence,  and  fearful  deeds  involving  the  life  of 
others.  He  had  no  fell  purpose  of  actually  doing  either, 
but  there  was  a  gloomy  pleasure  in  contemplating  them  as 
possibilities,  and  in  mentally  sketching  the  "  Lines  written 
in  Despair  "  which  would  be  found  in  what  was  but  an 
hour  before  the  pocket  of  the  youthful  bard,  G.  H.,  victim 


234  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

of  a  hopeless  passion.  All  this  emotion  was  in  the  nature 
of  a  surprise  to  the  young  man.  He  had  fully  believed  him 
self  desperately  in  love  with  Myrtle  Hazard  ;  and  it  was  not 
until  Clement  came  into  the  family  circle  with  the  right  of 
eminent  domain  over  the  realm  of  Susan's  affections,  that 
this  unfortunate  discovered  that  Susan's  pretty  ways  and 
morning  dress  and  love  of  poetry  and  liking  for  his  com 
pany  had  been  too  much  for  him,  and  that  he  was  hence 
forth  to  be  wretched  during  the  remainder  of  his  natural 
life,  except  so  far  as  he  could  unburden  himself  in  song. 

Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  had  asked  the  privilege 
of  waiting  upon  Myrtle  to  the  little  party  at  the  Eveleths. 
Myrtle  was  not  insensible  to  the  attractions  of  the  young 
lawyer,  though  she  had  never  thought  of  herself  except  as 
a  child  in  her  relations  with  any  of  these  older  persons. 
But  she  was  not  the  same  girl  that  she  had  been  but  a  few 
months  before.  She  had  achieved  her  independence  by 
her  audacious  and  most  dangerous  enterprise.  She  had 
gone  through  strange  nervous  trials  and  spiritual  experi 
ences  which  had  matured  her  more  rapidly  than  years  of 
common  life  would  have  done.  She  had  got  back  her 
health,  bringing  with  it  a  riper  wealth  of  womanhood.  She 
had  found  her  destiny  in  the  consciousness  that  she  inherited 
the  beauty  belonging  to  her  blood,  and  which,  after  sleep 
ing  for  a  generation  or  two  as  if  to  rest  from  the  glare  of 
the  pageant  that  follows  beauty  through  its  long  career  of 
triumph,  had  come  to  the  light  again  in  her  life,  and  was 
to  repeat  the  legends  of  the  olden  time  in  her  own  history. 

Myrtle's  wardrobe  had  very  little  of  ornament,  such  as 
the  modistes  of  the  town  would  have  thought  essential  to 
render  a  young  girl  like  her  presentable.  There  were  a 
few  heirlooms  of  old  date,  however,  which  she  had  kept  as 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  235 

curiosities  until  now,  and  which  she  looked  over  until  she 
found  some  lace  and  other  convertible  material,  with  which 
she  enlivened  her  costume  a  little  for  the  evening.  As 
she  clasped  the  antique  bracelet  around  her  wrist,  she  felt 
as  if  it  were  an  amulet  that  gave  her  the  power  of  charm 
ing  which  had  been  so  long  obsolete  in  her  lineage.  At 
the  bottom  of  her  heart  she  cherished  a  secret  longing  to 
try  her  fascinations  on  the  young  lawyer.  Who  could 
blame  her  ?  It  was  not  an  inwardly  expressed  intention, 
—  it  was  the  simple  instinctive  movement  to  subjugate 
the  strongest  of  the  other  sex  who  had  come  in  her  way, 
which,  as  already  said,  is  as  natural  to  a  woman  as  it  is  to 
a  man  to  be  captivated  by  the  loveliest  of  those  to  whom 
he  dares  to  aspire. 

Before  William  Murray  Bradshaw  and  Myrtle  Hazard 
had  reached  the  Parsonage,  the  girl's  cheeks  were  flushed 
and  her  dark  eyes  were  flashing  with  a  new  excitement. 
The  young  man  had  not  made  love  to  her  directly,  but  he 
had  interested  her  in  herself  by  a  delicate  and  tender  flat 
tery  of  manner,  and  so  set  her  fancies  working  that  she  was 
taken  with  him  as  never  before,  and  wishing  that  the 
Parsonage  had  been  a  mile  farther  from  The  Poplars.  It 
was  impossible  for  a  young  girl  like  Myrtle  to  conceal  the 
pleasure  she  received  from  listening  to  her  seductive  ad 
mirer,  who  was  trying  all  his  trained  skill  upon  his  artless 
companion.  Murray  Bradshaw  felt  sure  that  the  game 
was  in  his  hands  if  he  played  it  with  'only  common  pru 
dence.  There  was  no  need  of  hurrying  this  child,  —  it 
might  startle  her  to  make  downright  love  abruptly  ;  and 
now  that  he  had  an  ally  in  her  own  household,  and  was  to 
have  access  to  her  with  a  freedom  he  had  never  before  en 
joyed,  there  was  a  refined  pleasure  in  playing  his  fish,  — 


236  THE   GUAKDIAN   ANGEL. 

this  gamest  of  golden-scaled  creatures,  —  which  had  risen 
to  his  fly,  and  which  he  wished  to  hook,  but  not  to  land, 
until  he  was  sure  it  would  be  worth  his  while. 

They  entered  the  little  parlor  at  the  Parsonage  looking 
so  beaming,  that  Olive  and  Bathsheba  exchanged  glances 
which  implied  so  much  that  it  would  take  a  full  page  to 
tell  it  with  all  the  potentialities  involved. 

"  How  magnificent  Myrtle  is  this  evening,  Bathsheba  ! " 
said  Cyprian  Eveleth,  pensively. 

"  What  a  handsome  pair  they  are,  Cyprian  ! "  said  Bath 
sheba  cheerfully. 

Cyprian  sighed.  "  She  always  fascinates  me  whenever 
I  look  upon  her.  Is  n't  she  the  very  picture  of  what  a 
poet's  love  should  be,  —  a  poem  herself,  — a  glorious  lyric, 
—  all  light  and  music !  See  what  a  smile  the  creature 
has  !  And  her  voice !  When  did  you  ever  hear  such 
tones  ?  And  when  was  it  ever  so  full  of  life  before." 

Bathsheba  sighed.  "  I  do  not  know  any  poets  but  Gift 
ed  Hopkins.  Does  not  Myrtle  look  more  in  her  place  by 
the  side  of  Murray  Bradshaw  than  she  would  with  Gifted 
hitched  on  her  arm  ?  " 

Just  then  the  poet  made  his  appearance.  He  looked 
depressed,  as  if  it  had  cost  him  an  effort  to  come.  He 
M-as,  however,  charged  with  a  message  which  he  must 
deliver  to  the  hostess  of  the  evening. 

"  They  're  coming  presently,"  he  said.  "  That  young 
man  and  Susan.  Wants  you  to  introduce  him,  Mr.  Brad 
shaw." 

The  bell  rang  presently,  and  Murray  Bradshaw  slipped 
out  into  the  entry  to  meet  the  two  lovers. 

"  How  are  you,  my  fortunate  friend  ?  "  he  said,  as  he 
met  them  at  the  door.  "  Of  course  you  're  well  and  hap- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  237 

py  as  mortal  man  can  be  in  this  vale  of  tears.  Charming, 
ravishing,  quite  delicious,  that  way  of  dressing  your  hair, 
Miss  Posey !  Nice  girls  here  this  evening,  Mr.  Lindsay. 
Looked  lovely  when  I  came  out  of  the  parlor.  Can't  say 
how  they  will  show  after  this  young  lady  puts  in  an  ap 
pearance."  Jn  reply  to  which  florid  speeches  Susan 
blushed,  not  knowing  what  else  to  do,  and  Clement  smiled 
as  naturally  as  if  he  had  been  sitting  for  his  photograph. 

lie  felt,  in  a  vague  way,  that  he  and  Susan  were  being 
patronized,  which  is  not  a  pleasant  feeling  to  persons  with 
a  certain  pride  of  character.  There  was  no  expression  of 
contempt  about  Mr.  Bradshaw's  manner  or  language  at 
which  he  could  take  offence.  Only  he  had  the  air  of  a 
man  who  praises  his  neighbor  without  stint,  with  a  calm 
consciousness  that  he  himself  is  out  of  reach  of  compari 
son  in  the  possessions  or  qualities  which  he  is  admiring  in 
the  other.  Clement  was  right  in  his  obscure  perception  of 
Mr.  Bradshaw's  feeling  while  he  was  making  his  phrases. 
That  gentleman  was,  in  another  moment,  to  have  the  tin 
gling  delight  of  showing  the  grand  creature  he  had  just  be 
gun  to  tame.  He  was  going  to  extinguish  the  pallid  light 
of  Susan's  prettiness  in  the  brightness  of  Myrtle's  beauty. 
He  would  bring  this  young  man,  neutralized  and  rendered 
entirely  harmless  by  his  irrevocable  pledge  to  a  slight  girl, 
face  to  face  with  a  masterpiece  of  young  womanhood,  and 
say  to  him,  not  in  words,  but  as  plainly  as  speech  could 
have  told  him,  "  Behold  my  captive  ! " 

It  was  a  proud  moment  for  Murray  Bradshaw.  He 
had  seen,  or  thought  that  he  had  seen,  the  assured  evidence 
of  a  speedy  triumph  over  all  the  obstacles  of  Myrtle's 
youth  and  his  own  present  seeming  slight  excess  of  matu 
rity.  Unless  he  were  very  greatly  mistaken,  he  could  now 


238  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

walk  the  course  ;  the  plate  was  his,  no  matter  what  might 
be  the  entries.  And  this  youth,  this  handsome,  spirited- 
looking,  noble-aired  young  fellow,  whose  artist-eye  could 
not  miss  a  line  of  Myrtle's  proud  and  almost  defiant  beauty, 
was  to  be  the  witness  of  his  power,  and  to  look  in  admira 
tion  upon  his  prize  !  He  introduced  him  to  the  others, 
reserving  her  for  the  last.  She  was  at  that  moment  talk 
ing  with  the  worthy  Rector,  and  turned  when  Mr.  Brad- 
shaw  spoke  to  her. 

"  Miss  Hazard,  will  you  allow  me  to  present  to  you  my 
friend,  Mr.  Clement  Lindsay  ?  " 

They  looked  full  upon  each  other,  and  spoke  the  com 
mon  words  of  salutation.  It  was  a  strange  meeting;  but 
we  who  profess  to  tell  the  truth  must  tell  strange  things, 
or  we  shall  be  liars. 

In  poor  little  Susan's  letter  there  was  some  allusion  to  a 
bust  of  Innocence  which  the  young  artist  had  begun,  but 
of  which  he  had  said  nothing  in  his  answer  to  her.  He 
had  roughed  out  a  block  of  marble  for  that  impersonation  ; 
sculpture  was  a  delight  to  him,  though  secondary  to  his 
main  pursuit.  After  his  memorable  adventure,  the  image 
of  the  girl  he  had  rescued  so  haunted  him  that  the  pale 
ideal  which  was  to  work  itself  out  in  the  bust  faded 
away  in  its  perpetual  presence,  and  —  alas,  poor  Susan  ! 
—  in  obedience  to  the  impulse  that  he  could  not  control, 
he  left  Innocence  sleeping  in  the  marble,  and  began  mod 
elling  a  figure  of  proud  and  noble  and  imperious  beauty, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Liberty. 

The  original  which  had  inspired  his  conception  was  be 
fore  him.  These  were  the  lips  to  which  his  own  had  clung 
when  he  brought  her  back  from  the  land  of  shadows. 
The  hyacinthine  curl  of  her  lengthening  locks  had  added 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  239 

something  to  her  beauty ;  but  it  was  the  same  face  which 
had  haunted  him.  This  was  the  form  he  had  borne  seem 
ingly  lifeless  in  his  arms,  and  the  bosom  which  heaved  so 

visibly  before  him  was  that  which  his  eyes  they 

were  the  calm  eyes  of  a  sculptor,  but  of  a  sculptor  hardly 
twenty  years  old. 

Yes,  —  her  bosom  was  heaving.  She  had  an  unex 
plained  feeling  of  suffocation,  and  drew  great  breaths,— 
she  could  not  have  said  why,  — but  she  could  not  help  it ; 
and  presently  she  became  giddy,  and  had  a  great  noise  in 
her  ears,  and  rolled  her  eyes  about,  and  was  on  the  point 
of  going  into  an  hysteric  spasm.  They  called  Dr.  Hurl- 
but,  who  was  making  himself  agreeable  to  Olive  just  then, 
to  come  and  see  what  was  the  matter  with  Myrtle. 

"  A  little  nervous  turn,  —  that  is  all,"  he  said.  "  Open 
the  window.  Loose  the  ribbon  round  her  neck.  Rub 
her  hands.  Sprinkle  some  water  on  her  forehead.  A 
few  drops  of  cologne.  Room  too  warm  for  her,  —  that 's 
all,  I  think." 

Myrtle  came  to  herself  after  a  time  without  anything 
like  a  regular  paroxysm.  But  she  was  excitable,  and 
whatever  the  cause  of  the  disturbance  may  have  been,  it 
seemed  prudent  that  she  should  go  home  early ;  and  the 
excellent  Rector  insisted  on  caring  for  her,  much  to  the 
discontent  of  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw. 

"  Demonish  odd,"  said  this  gentleman,  was  n't  it,  Mr. 
Lindsay,  that  Miss  Hazard  should  go  off  in  that  way  ? 
Did  you  ever  see  her  before  ? 

"I  —  I  —  have  seen  that  young  lady  before,"  Clement 
answered. 

"  Where  did  you  meet  her  ?  "  Mr.  Bradshaw  asked,  with 
eager  interest. 


240  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"I  met  her  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of  Death," 
Clement  answered,  very  solemnly.  —  "  I  leave  this  place 
to-morrow  morning.  Have  you  any  commands  for  the 
city  ?  " 

("  Knows  how  to  shut  a  fellow  up  pretty  well  for  a 
young  one,  does  n't  he  ? "  Mr.  Bradshaw  thought  to 
himself.) 

"Thank  you,  no,"  he  answered,  recovering  himself. 
"  Rather  a  melancholy  place  to  make  acquaintance  in, 
I  should  think,  that  Valley  you  spoke  of.  I  should  like  to 
know  about  it." 

Mr.  Clement  had  the  power  of  looking  steadily  into 
another  person's  eyes  in  a  way  that  was  by  no  means  en 
couraging  to  curiosity  or  favorable  to  the  process  of  cross- 
examination.  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  not  disposed  to  press 
his  question  in  the  face  of  the  calm,  repressive  look  the 
young  man  gave  him. 

"  If  he  was  n't  bagged,  I  should  n't  like  the  shape  of 
things  any  too  well,"  he  said  to  himself. 

The  conversation  between  Mr.  Clement  Lindsay  and 
Miss  Susan  Posey,  as  they  walked  home  together,  was  not 
very  brilliant.  "  I  am  going  to-morrow  morning,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  must  bid  you  good  by  to-night."  Perhaps  it  is  as 
well  to  leave  two  lovers  to  themselves,  under  these  circum 
stances. 

Before  he  went  he  spoke  to  his  worthy  host,  whose 
moderate  demands  he  had  to  satisfy,  and  with  whom  he 
wished  to  exchange  a  few  words. 

"  And  by  the  way,  Deacon,  I  have  no  use  for  this  book, 
and  as  it  is  in  a  good  type,  perhaps  you  would  like  it. 
Your  favorite,  Scott,  and  one  of  his'  greatest  works,  I 
have  another  edition  of  it  at  home,  and  don't  care  for  this 
volume." 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  241 

"  Thank  you,  thank  you,  Mr.  Lindsay,  much  obleeged. 
I  shall  read  that  copy  for  your  sake,  —  the  best  of  books 
next  to  the  Bible  itself." 

After  Mr.  Lindsay  had  gone,  the  Deacon  looked  at  the 
back  of  the  book.  "  Scott's  Works,  Vol.  IX. \  He  opened 
it  at  hazard,  and  happened  to  fall  on  a  well-known  page, 
from  which  he  began  reading  aloud,  slowly, 

"  When  Izrul,  of  the  Lord  beloved, 
Out  of  the  land  of  bondage  came." 

The  whole  hymn  pleased  the  grave  Deacon.  He  had 
never  seen  this  work  of  the  author  of  the  Commentary.  No 
matter ;  anything  that  such  a  good  man  wrote  must  be 
good  reading,  and  he  would  save  it  up  for  Sunday.  The 
consequence  of  this  was,  that,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker 
stopped  in  on  his  way  to  meeting  on  the  "  Sabbath,"  he 
turned  white  with  horror  at  the  spectacle  of  the  senior 
Deacon  of  his  church  sitting,  open-mouthed  and  wide-eyed, 
absorbed  in  the  pages  of  u  Ivanhoe,"  which  he  found  enor 
mously  interesting ;  but,  so  far  as  he  had  yet  read,  not 
occupied  with  religious  matters  so  much  as  he  had  ex 
pected. 

Myrtle  had  no  explanation  to  give  of  her  nervous  attack. 
Mr.  Bradshaw  called  the  day  after  the  party,  but  did  not 
see  her.  He  met  her  walking,  and  thought  she  seemed  a 
little  more  distant  than  common.  That  would  never  do. 
He  called  again  at  The  Poplars  a  few  days  afterwards, 
and  was  met  in  the  entry  by  Miss  Cynthia,  with  whom  he 
had  a  long  conversation  on  matters  involving  Myrtle's 
interests  and  their  own. 


11 


242  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

*  MADNESS  ? 

MR.  CLEMENT  LINDSAY  returned  to  the  city 
and  his  usual  labors  in  a  state  of  strange  mental 
agitation.  He  had  received  an  impression  for  which  he 
was  unprepared.  He  had  seen  for  the  second  time  a 
young  girl  Avhom,  for  the  peace  of  his  own  mind,  and  for 
the  happiness  of  others,  he  should  never  again  have  looked 
upon  until  Time  had  taught  their  young  hearts  the  lesson 
which  all  hearts  must  learn,  sooner  or  later. 

What  shall  the  unfortunate  person  do  who  has  met  with 
one  of  those  disappointments,  or  been  betrayed  into  one  of 
those  positions,  which  do  violence  to  all  the  tenderest  feel 
ings,  blighting  the  happiness  of  youth,  and  the  prospects  of 
after  years  ? 

If  the  person  is  a  young  man,  he  has  various  resources. 
He  can  take  to  the  philosophic  meerschaum,  and  nicotize 
himself  at  brief  intervals  into  a  kind  of  buzzing  and  blurry 
insensibility,  until  he  begins  to  "  color  "  at  last  like  the 
bowl  of  his  own  pipe,  and  even  his  mind  gets  the  tobacco 
flavor.  Or  he  can  have  recourse  to  the  more  suggestive 
stimulants,  which  will  dress  his  future  up  for  him  in  shin 
ing  possibilities  that  glitter  like  Masonic  regalia,  until  the 
morning  light  and  the  waking  headache  reveal  his  illusion. 
Some  kind  of  spiritual  anaesthetic  he  must  have,  if  he  holds 
his  grief  fast  tied  to  his  heart-strings.  But  as  grief  must 
be  fed  with  thought,  or  starve  to  death,  it  is  the  best  plan 
to  keep  the  mind  so  busy  in  other  ways  that  it  has  no  time 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  243 

to  attend  to  the  wants  of  that  ravening  passion.  To  sit 
down  and  passively  endure  it,  is  apt  to  end  in  putting  all 
the  mental  machinery  into  disorder. 

Clement  Lindsay  had  thought  that  his  battle  of  life  was 
already  fought,  and  that  he  had  conquered.  lie  believed 
that  he  had  subdued  himself  completely,  and  that  he  was 
ready,  without  betraying  a  shadow  of  disappointment,  to 
take  the  insufficient  nature  which  destiny  had  assigned 
him  in  his  companion,  and  share  with  it  all  of  his  own 
larger  being  it  was  capable,  not  of  comprehending,  but  of 
apprehending. 

He  had  deceived  himself.  The  battle  was  not  fought 
and  won.  There  had  been  a  struggle,  and  what  seemed  to 
be  a  victory,  but  the  enemy  —  intrenched  in  the  very  cit 
adel  of  life  —  had  rallied,  and  would  make  another  despe 
rate  attempt  to  retrieve  his  defeat. 

The  haste  with  which  the  young  man  had  quitted  the 
village  was  only  a  proof  that  he  felt  his  danger.  He 
believed  that,  if  he  came  into  the  presence  of  Myrtle  Haz 
ard  for  the  third  time,  he  should  be  no  longer  master  of  his 
feelings.  Some  explanation  must  take  place  between 
them,  and  how  was  it  possible  that  it  should  be  without 
emotion  ?  and  in  what  do  all  emotions  shared  by  a  young 
man  with  such  a  young  girl  as  this  tend  to  find  their  last 
expression  ? 

Clement  determined  to  stun  his  sensibilities  by  work. 
He  would  give  himself  no  leisure  to  indulge  in  idle  dreams 
of  what  might  have  been.  His  plans  were  never  so  care 
fully  finished,  and  his  studies  were  never  so  continuous  as 
now.  But  the  passion  still  wrought  within  him,  and,  if  he 
drove  it  from  his  waking  thoughts,  haunted  his  sleep  until 
he  could  endure  it  no  longer,  and  must  give  it  some  mani- 


244  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

festation.  He  had  covered  up  the  bust  of  Liberty  so 
closely,  that  not  an  outline  betrayed  itself  through  the 
heavy  folds  of  drapery  in  which  it  was  wrapped.  His 
thoughts  recurred  to  his  unfinished  marble,  as  offering  the 
one  mode  in  which  he  could  find  a  silent  outlet  to  the 
feelings  and  thoughts  which  it  was  torture  to  keep  impris 
oned  in  his  soul.  The  cold  stone  would  tell  them,  but 
without  passion  ;  and  having  got  the  image  which  possessed 
him  out  of  himself  into  a  lifeless  form,  it  seemed  as  if  he 
might  be  delivered  from  a  presence  which,  lovely  as  it  was, 
stood  between  him  and  all  that  made  him  seem  honorable 
and  worthy  to  himself. 

He  uncovered  the  bust  which  he  had  but  half  shaped, 
and  struck  the  first  flake  from  the  glittering  marble.  The 
toil,  once  begun,  fascinated  him  strangely,  and  after  the 
day's  work  was  done,  and  at  every  interval  he  could  snatch 
from  his  duties,  he  wrought  at  his  secret  task. 

"  Clement  is  graver  than  ever,"  the  young  men  said  at 
the  office.  "  What 's  the  matter,  do  you  suppose  ?  Turned 
off  by  the  girl  they  say  he  means  to  marry  by  and  by  ? 
How  pale  he  looks  too !  Must  have  something  worrying 
him  :  he  used  to  look  as  fresh  as  a  clove  pink." 

The  master  with  whom  he  studied  saw  that  he  was 
losing  color,  and  looking  very  much  worn,  and  determined 
to  find  out,  if  he  could,  whether  he  was  not  overworking 
himself.  He  soon  discovered  that  his  light  was  seen  burn 
ing  late  into  the  night,  that  he  was  neglecting  his  natural 
rest,  and  always  busy  with  some  unknown  task,  not  called 
for  in  his  routine  of  duty  or  legitimate  study. 

"  Something  is  wearing  on  you,  Clement,"  he  said.  "  You 
are  killing  yourself  with  undertaking  too  much.  Will  you 
let  me  know  what  keeps  you  so  busy  when  you  ought  to  be 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  245 

asleep,  or  taking  your  ease  and  comfort  in  some  way  or 
other  ?  " 

Nobody  but  himself  had  ever  seen  his  marble  or  its 
model.  He  had  now  almost  finished  it,  laboring  at  it  with 
such  sleepless  devotion,  and  he  was  willing  to  let  his  master 
have  a  sight  of  his  first  effort  of  the  kind,  —  for  he  was 
not  a  sculptor,  it  must  be  remembered,  though  he  had 
modelled  in  clay,  not  without  some  success,  from  time  to 
time. 

"  Come  with  me."  he  said. 

The  master  climbed  the  stairs  with  him  up  to  his  modest 
chamber.  A  closely  shrouded  bust  stood  on  its  pedestal  in 
the  light  of  the  solitary  window. 

"  That  is  my  ideal  personage,"  Clement  said.  "  Wait 
one  moment,  and  you  shall  see  how  far  I  have  caught  the 
character  of  our  uncrowned  queen." 

The  master  expected,  very  naturally,  to  see  the  conven 
tional  young  woman  with  classical  wreath  or  feather  head 
dress,  whom  we  have  placed  upon  our  smallest  coin,  so 
that  our  children  may  all  grow  up  loving  Liberty. 

As  Clement  withdrew  the  drapery  that  covered  his  work, 
the  master  stared  at  it  in  amazement.  He  looked  at  it 
long  and  earnestly,  and  at  length  turned  his  eyes,  a  little 
moistened  by  some  feeling  which  thus  betrayed  itself,  upon 
his  scholar. 

"  This  is  no  ideal,  Clement.  It  is  the  portrait  of  a  very 
young  but  very  beautiful  woman.  No  common  feeling 
could  have  guided  your  hand  in  shaping  such  a  portrait 
from  memory.  This  must  be  that  friend  of  yours  of  whom 
I  have  often  heard  as  an  amiable  young  person.  Pardon 
me,  for  you  know  that  nobody  cares  more  for  you  than 
I  do,  —  I  hope  that  you  are  happy  in  all  your  relations 


246  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

with  this  young  friend  of  yours.  How  could  one  be 
otherwise  ?  " 

It  was  hard  to  bear,  very  hard.  He  forced  a  smile. 
"  You  are  partly  right,"  he  said.  "  There  is  a  resem 
blance,  I  trust,  to  a  living  person,  for  I  had  one  in  my 
mind." 

"  Did  n't  you  tell  me  once,  Clement,  that  you  were  at 
tempting  a  bust  of  Innocence  ?  I  do  not  see  any  block  in 
your  room  but  this.  Is  that  done  ?  " 

"  Done  with  !  "  Clement  answered ;  and,  as  he  said  it, 
the  thought  stung  through  him  that  this  was  the  very  stone 
which  was  to  have  worn  the  pleasant  blandness  of  pretty 
Susan's  guileless  countenance.  How  the  new  features  had 
effaced  the  recollection  of  the  others  ! 

In  a  few  days  more  Clement  had  finished  his  bust. 
His  hours  were  again  vacant  to  his  thick-coming  fancies. 
While  he  had  been  busy  with  his  marble,  his  hands  had 
required  his  attention,  and  he  must  think  closely  of  every 
detail  upon  which  he  was  at  work.  But  at  length  his  task 
was  done,  and  he  could  contemplate  what  he  had  made  of 
it.  It  was  a  triumph  for  one  so  little  exercised  in  sculp 
ture.  The  master  had  told  him  so,  and  his  own  eye  could 
not  deceive  him.  He  might  never  succeed  in  any  repeti 
tion  of  his  effort,  but  this  once  he  most  certainly  had  suc 
ceeded.  He  could  not  disguise  from  himself  the  source 
of  this  extraordinary  good  fortune  in  so  doubtful  and 
difficult  an  attempt.  Nor  could  he  resist  the  desire  of  con 
templating  the  portrait  bust,  which  —  it  was  foolish  to  talk 
about  ideals  —  was  not  Liberty,  but  Myrtle  Hazard. 

It  was  too  nearly  like  the  story  of  the  ancient  sculptor : 
his  own  work  was  an  over-match  for  its  artist.  Clement 
had  made  a  mistake  in  supposing  that  by  giving  his  dream 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  247 

a  material  form  he  should  drive  it  from  the  possession  of 
his  mind.  The  image  in  which  he  had  fixed  his  recollec 
tion  of  its  original  served  only  to  keep  her  living  presence 
before  him.  He  thought  of  her  as  she  clasped  her  arms 
around  him,  and  they  were  swallowed  up  in  the  rushing 
waters,  coming  so  near  to  passing  into  the  unknown  world 
together.  He  thought  of  her  as  he  stretched  her  lifeless 
form  upon  the  bank,  and  looked  for  one  brief  moment  on 
her  unsunned  loveliness,  — "  a  sight  to  dream  of,  not  to 
tell."  He  thought  of  her  as  his  last  fleeting  glimpse  had 
shown  her,  beautiful,  not  with  the  blossorny  prettiness  that 
passes  away  with  the  spring  sunshine,  but  with  a  rich 
vitality  of  which  noble  outlines  and  winning  expression 
were  only  the  natural  accidents.  And  that  singular  im 
pression  which  the  sight  of  him  had  produced  upon  her, — 
how  strange  !  How  could  she  but  have  listened  to  him, 
—  to  him,  who  was,  as  it  were,  a  second  creator  to  her, 
for  he  had  brought  her  back  from  the  gates  of  the  unseen 
realm,  —  if  he  had  recalled  to  her  the  dread  moments 
they  had  passed  in  each  other's  arms,  with  death,  not 
love,  in  all  their  thoughts.  And  if  then  he  had  told  her 
how  her  image  had  remained  with  him,  how  it  had  colored 
all  his  visions,  and  mingled  with  all  his  conceptions,  would 
not  those  dark  eyes  have  melted  as  they  were  turned 
upon  him  ?  Nay,  how  could  he  keep  the  thought  away, 
that  she  would  not  have  been  insensible  to  his  passion, 
if  he  could  have  suffered  its  flame  to  kindle  in  his  heart  ? 
Did  it  not  seem  as  if  Death  had  spared  them  for  Love, 
and  that  Love  should  lead  them  together  through  life's 
long  journey  to  the  gates  of  Death  ? 

Never !  never !  never !     Their  fates  were   fixed.     For 
him,  poor  insect  as  he  was,  a  solitary  flight  by  day,  and 


248  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

a  return  at  evening  to  his  wingless  mate  !  For  her  —  lie 
thought  he  saw  her  doom. 

Could  he  give  her  up  to  the  cold  embraces  of  that  pas 
sionless  egotist,  who,  as  he  perceived  plainly  enough,  was 
casting  his  shining  net  all  around  her  ?  Clement  read 
Murray  Bradshaw  correctly.  He  could  not  perhaps  have 
spread  his  character  out  in  set  words,  as  we  must  do  for 
him,  for  it  takes  a  long  apprenticeship  to  learn  to  describe 
analytically  what  we  know  as  soon  as  we  see  it ;  but  he 
felt  in  his  inner  consciousness  all  that  we  must  tell  for 
him.  Fascinating,  agreeable,  artful,  knowing,  capable  of 
winning  a  woman  infinitely  above  himself,  incapable  of 
understanding  her,  —  O,  if  he  could  but  touch  him  with 
the  angel's  spear,  and  bid  him  take  his  true  shape  before 
her  whom  he  was  gradually  enveloping  in  the  silken 
meshes  of  his  subtle  web !  He  would  make  a  place  for 
her  in  the  world,  —  O  yes,  doubtless.  He  would  be 
proud  of  her  in  company,  would  dress  her  handsomely, 
and  show  her  off  in  the  best  lights.  But  from  the  very 
hour  that  he  felt  his  power  over  her  firmly  established, 
he  would  begin  to  remodel  her  after  his  own  worldly 
pattern.  He  would  dismantle  her  of  her  womanly  ideals, 
and  give  her  in  their  place  his  table  of  market-values. 
He  would  teach  her  to  submit  her  sensibilities  to  her 
selfish  interest,  and  her  tastes  to  the  fashion  of  the  mo 
ment,  no  matter  which  world  or  half-world  it  came  from. 
"  As  the  husband  is,  the  wife  is,"  —  he  would  subdue  her 
to  what  he  worked  in. 

All  this  Clement  saw,  as  in  apocalyptic  vision,  stored 
up  for  the  wife  of  Murray  Bradshaw,  if  he  read  him  right 
ly,  as  he  felt  sure  he  did,  from  the  few  times  he  had  seen 
him.  He  would  be  rich  by  and  by,  very  probably.  He 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  249 

looked  like  one  of  those  young  men  who  are  sharp 
and  hard  enough  to  come  to  fortune.  Then  she  would 
have  to  take  her  place  in  the  great  social  exhibition  where 
the  gilded  cages  are  daily  opened  that  the  animals  may 
be  seen,  feeding  on  the  sight  of  stereotyped  toilets  and 
the  sound  of  impoverished  tattle.  O  misery  of  semi-pro 
vincial  fashionable  life,  where  wealth  is  at  its  wit's  end  to 
avoid  being  tired  of  an  existence  which  has  all  the  labor 
of  keeping  up  appearances,  without  the  piquant  profligacy 
which  saves  it  at  least  from  being  utterly  vapid  !  How 
many  fashionable  women  at  the  end  of  a  long  season 
would  be  ready  to  welcome  heaven  itself  as  a  relief  from 
the  desperate  monotony  of  dressing,  dawdling,  and  driving  ! 

This  could  not  go  on  so  forever.  Clement  had  placed 
a  red  curtain  so  as  to  throw  a  rose-bloom  on  his  marble, 
and  give  it  an  aspect  which  his  fancy  turned  to  the  sem 
blance  of  life.  He  would  sit  and  look  at  the  features  his 
own  hand  had  so  faithfully  wrought,  until  it  seemed  as  if 
the  lips  moved,  sometimes  as  if  they  were  smiling,  some 
times  as  if  they  were  ready  to  speak  to  him.  His  com 
panions  began  to  whisper  strange  things  of  him  in  the 
studio,  —  that  his  eye  was  getting  an  unnatural  light,  — 
that  he  talked  as  if  to  imaginary  listeners,  —  in  short,  that 
there  was  a  look  as  if  something  were  going  wrong  with 
his  brain,  which  it  might  be  feared  would  spoil  his  fine 
intelligence.  It  was  the  undecided  battle,  and  the  enemy, 
as  in  his  noblest  moments  he  had  considered  the  growing 
passion,  was  getting  the  better  of  him. 

He  was  sitting  one  afternoon  before  the  fatal  bust  which 
had  smiled  and  whispered  away  his  peace,  when  the  post 
man  brought  him  a  letter.  It  was  from  the  simple  girl 
11* 


250  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

to  whom  he  had  given  his  promise.  We  know  how  she 
used  to  prattle  in  her  harmless  way  about  her  innocent 
feelings,  and  the  trifling  matters  that  were  going  on  in  her 
little  village  world.  But  now  she  wrote  in  sadness. 
Something,  she  did  not  too  clearly  explain  what,  had 
grieved  her,  and  she  gave  free  expression  to  her  feelings. 
"I  have  no  one  that  loves  me  but  you,"  she  said;  "and 
if  you  leave  me  I  must  droop  and  die.  Are  you  true  to 
me,  dearest  Clement,  —  true  as  when  we  promised  each 
other  that  we  would  love  while  life  lasted  ?  Or  have  you 
forgotten  one  who  will  never  cease  to  remember  that  she 
was  once  your  own  Susan  ?  " 

Clement  dropped  the  letter  from  his  hand,  and  sat  a  long 
hour  looking  at  the  exquisitely  wrought  features  of  her 
who  had  come  between  him  and  honor  and  his  plighted 
word. 

At  length  he  arose,  and,  lifting  the  bust  tenderly  from 
its  pedestal,  laid  it  upon  the  cloth  with  which  it  had  been 
covered.  He  wrapped  it  closely,  fold  upon  fold,  as  the 
mother  whom  man  condemns  and  God  pities  wraps  the 
child  she  loves  before  she  lifts  her  hand  against  its  life. 
Then  he  took  a  heavy  hammer  and  shattered  his  lovely 
idol  into  shapeless  fragments.  The  strife  was  over. 


THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  251 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

A   CHANGE   OF    PROGRAMME. 

MR.  WILLIAM  MURRAY  BRADSHAW  was  in 
pretty  intimate  relations  with  Miss  Cynthia  Bad- 
lam.  It  was  well  understood  between  them  that  it  might 
be  of  very  great  advantage  to  both  of  them  if  he  should  in 
due  time  become  the  accepted  lover  of  Myrtle  Hazard. 
So  long  as  he  could  be  reasonably  secure  against  interfer 
ence,  he  did  not  wish  to  hurry  her  in  making  her  decision. 
Two  things  he  did  wish  to  be  sure  of,  if  possible,  before 
asking  her  the  great  question  ;  —  first,  that  she  would  an 
swer  it  in  the  affirmative  ;  and  secondly,  that  certain  con 
tingencies,  the  turning  of  which  was  not  as  yet  absolutely 
capable  of  being  predicted,  should  happen  as  he  expected. 
Cynthia  had  the  power  of  furthering  his  wishes  in  many  di 
rect  and  indirect  ways,  and  he  felt  sure  of  her  co-operation. 
She  had  some  reason  to  fear  his  enmity  if  she  displeased 
him,  and  he  had  taken  good  care  to  make  her  understand 
that  her  interests  would  be  greatly  promoted  by  the  suc 
cess  of  the  plan  which  he  had  formed,  and  which  was  con 
fided  to  her  alone. 

He  kept  the  most  careful  eye  on  every  possible  source 
of  disturbance  to  this  quietly  maturing  plan.  He  had  no 
objection  to  have  Gifted  Hopkins  about  Myrtle  as  much 
as  she  would  endure  to  have  him.  The  youthful  bard  en 
tertained  her  very  innocently  with  his  bursts  of  poetry, 
but  she  was  in  no  danger  from  a  young  person  so  intimate 
ly  associated  with  the  yard-stick,  the  blunt  scissors,  and 


252  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  brown-paper  parcel.  There  was  Cyprian  too,  about 
whom  he  did  not  feel  any  very  particular  solicitude.  Myrtle 
had  evidently  found  out  that  she  was  handsome  and  stylish 
and  all  that,  and  it  was  not  very  likely  she  would  take  up 
with  such  a  bashful,  humble,  country  youth  as  this.  He 
could  expect  nothing  beyond  a  possible  rectorate  in  the 
remote  distance,  with  one  of  those  little  pony  chapels  to 
preach  in,  which,  if  it  were  set  up  on  a  stout  pole,  would 
pass  for  a  good-sized  martin-house.  Cyprian  might  do  to 
practise  on,  but  there  was  no  danger  of  her  looking  at  him 
in  a  serious  way.  As  for  that  youth,  Clement  Lindsay, 
if  he  had  not  taken  himself  off  as  he  did,  Murray  Brad- 
shaw  confessed  to  himself  that  he  should  have  felt  uneasy. 
He  was  too  good-looking,  and  too  clever  a  young  fellow  to 
have  knocking  about  among  fragile  susceptibilities.  But 
on  reflection  he  saw  there  could  be  no  danger. 

"  All  up  with  him,  —  poor  diavolo  !  Can't  understand 
it  —  such  a  little  sixpenny  miss — pretty  enough  boiled 
parsnip  blonde,  if  one  likes  that  sort  of  thing  —  pleases 
some  of  the  old  boys,  apparently.  Look  out,  Mr.  L.  — 
remember  Susanna  and  the  Elders.  Good ! 

"  Safe  enough  if  something  new  does  n't  turn  up. 
Youngish.  Sixteen  's  a  little  early.  Seventeen  will  do. 
Marry  a  girl  while  she  's  in  the  gristle,  and  you  can  shape 
her  bones  for  her.  Splendid  creature  —  without  her  trim 
mings.  Wants  training.  Must  learn  to  dance,  and  sing 
something  besides  psalm-tunes." 

Mr.  Bradshaw  began  humming  the  hymn,  "When  I 
can  read  my  title  clear,"  adding  some  variations  of  his  own. 
"  That  's  the  solo  for  my  prima  donna  !  " 

In  the  mean  time  Myrtle  seemed  to  be  showing  some 
new  developments.  One  would  have  said  that  the  in- 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  253 

stincts  of  the  coquette,  or  at  least  of  the  city  belle,  were 
coming  uppermost  in  her  nature.  Her  little  nervous 
attack  passed  away,  and  she  gained  strength  and  beauty 
every  day.  She  was  becoming  conscious  of  her  gifts  of 
fascination,  and  seemed  to  please  herself  with  the  homage 
of  her  rustic  admirers.  Why  was  it  that  no  one  of  them 
had  the  look  and  bearing  of  that  young  man  she  had  seen 
but  a  moment  the  other  evening  ?  To  think  that  he  should 
have  taken  up  with  such  a  weakling  as  Susan  Posey ! 
She  sighed,  and  not  so  much  thought  as  felt  how  kind  it 
would  have  been  in  Heaven  to  have  made  her  such  a  man. 
But  the  image  of  the  delicate  blonde  stood  between  her 
and  all  serious  thought  of  Clement  Lindsay.  She  saw  the 
wedding  in  the  distance,  and  very  foolishly  thought  to  her 
self  that  she  could  not  and  would  not  go  to  it. 

But  Clement  Lindsay  was  gone,  and  she  must  content 
herself  with  such  worshippers  as  the  village  afforded. 
Murray  Bradshaw  was  surprised  and  confounded  at  the 
easy  way  in  which  she  received  his  compliments,  and 
played  with  his  advances,  after  the  fashion  of  the  trained 
ball-room  belles,  who  know  how  to  be  almost  caressing  in 
manner,  and  yet  are  really  as  far  off  from  the  deluded  vic 
tim  of  their  suavities  as  the  topmost  statue  of  the  Milan 
cathedral  from  the  peasant  that  kneels  on  its  floor.  He 
admired  her  all  the  more  for  this,  and  yet  he  saw  that  she 
would  be  a  harder  prize  to  win  than  he  had  once  thought. 
If  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  have  her,  he  must 
go  armed  with  all  implements,  from  the  red  hackle  to  the 
harpoon. 

The  change  which  surprised  Murray  Bradshaw  could 
not  fail  to  be  noticed  by  all  those  about  her.  Miss  Silence 
had  long  ago  come  to  pantomime,  —  rolling  up  of  eyes, 


254  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

clasping  of  hands,  making  of  sad  months,  and  the  rest,  — 
but  left  her  to  her  own  way,  as  already  the  property 
of  that  great  firm  of  World  &  Co.  which  drives  such 
sharp  bargains  for  young  souls  with  the  better  angels. 
Cynthia  studied  her  for  her  own  purposes,  but  had  never 
gained  her  confidence.  The  Irish  servant  saw  that  some 
change  had  come  over  her,  and  thought  of  the  great  ladies 
she  had  sometimes  looked  upon  in  the  old  country.  They 
all  had  a  kind  of  superstitious  feeling  about  Myrtle's  brace 
let,  of  which  she  had  told  them  the  story,  but  which  Kitty 
half  believed  was  put  in  the  drawer  by  the  fairies,  who 
brought  her  ribbons  and  partridge  feathers,  and  other 
simple  adornments  with  which  she  contrived  to  set  off  her 
simple  costume,  so  as  to  produce  those  effects  which  an 
eye  for  color  and  cunning  fingers  can  bring  out  of  almost 
nothing. 

Gifted  Hopkins  was  now  in  a  sad,  vacillating  condition, 
between  the  two  great  attractions  to  which  he  was  exposed. 
Myrtle  looked  so  immensely  handsome  one  Sunday  when 
he  saw  her  going  to  church,  —  not  to  meeting,  for  she 
would  not  go,  except  when  she  knew  Father  Pemberton 
was  going  to  be  the  preacher,  —  that  the  young  poet  was 
on  the  point  of  going  down  on  his  knees  to  her,  and  telling 
her  that  his  heart  was  hers  and  hers  alone.  But  he  sud 
denly  remembered  that  he  had  on  his  best  pantaloons ;  and 
the  idea  of  carrying  the  marks  of  his  devotion  in  the  shape 
of  two  dusty  impressions  on  his  most  valued  article  of  ap 
parel  turned  the  scale  against  the  demonstration.  It  hap 
pened  the  next  morning,  that  Susan  Posey  wore  the  most 
becoming  ribbon  she  had  displayed  for  a  long  time,  and 
Gifted  was  so  taken  with  her  pretty  looks  that  he  might 
very  probably  have  made  the  same  speech  to  her  that  he 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  255 

had  been  on  the  point  of  making  to  Myrtle  the  day  before, 
but  that  he  remembered  her  plighted  affections,  and  thought 
what  he  should  have  to  say  for  himself  when  Clement 
Lindsay,  in  a  frenzy  of  rage  and  jealousy,  stood  before 
him,  probably  armed  with  as  many  deadly  instruments  as 
a  lawyer  mentions  by  name  in  an  indictment  for  murder. 

Cyprian  Eveleth  looked  very  differently  on  the  new 
manifestations  Myrtle  was  making  of  her  tastes  and  inclina 
tions.  He  had  always  felt  dazzled,  as  well  as  attracted, 
by  her;  but  now  there  was  something  in  her  expression 
and  manner  which  made  him  feel  still  more  strongly  that 
they  were  intended  for  different  spheres  of  life.  He  could 
not  but  own  that  she  was  born  for  a  brilliant  destiny,  — 
that  no  ball-room  would  throw  a  light  from  its  chandeliers 
too  strong  for  her,  —  that  no  circle  would  be  too  brilliant 
for  her  to  illuminate  by  her  presence.  Love  does  not 
thrive  without  hope,  and  Cyprian  was  beginning  to  see 
that  it  was  idle  in  him  to  think  of  folding  these  wide  wings 
of  Myrtle's  so  that  they  would  be  shut  up  in  any  cage  he 
could  ever  offer  her.  He  began  to  doubt  whether,  after 
all,  he  might  not  find  a  meeker  and  humbler  nature  better 
adapted  to  his  own.  And  so  it  happened  that  one  evening 
after  the  three  girls,  Olive,  Myrtle,  and  Bathsheba,  had 
been  together  at  the  Parsonage,  and  Cyprian,  availing  him 
self  of  a  brother's  privilege,  had  joined  them,  he  found  he 
had  been  talking  most  of  the  evening  with  the  gentle  girl 
whose  voice  had  grown  so  soft  and  sweet,  during  her  long 
ministry  in  the  sick-chamber,  that  it  seemed  to  him  more 
like  music  than  speech.  It  would  not  be  fair  to  say  that 
Myrtle  was  piqued  to  see  that  Cyprian  was  devoting  him 
self  to  Bathsheba.  Her  ambition  was  already  reaching 
beyond  her  little  village  circle,  and  she  had  an  inward 


256  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

sense  that  Cyprian  found  a  form  of  sympathy  in  the  min 
ister's  simple-minded  daughter  which  he  could  not  ask  from 
a  young  woman  of  her  own  aspirations. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Master  Byles  Grid- 
ley  was  one  morning  surprised  by  an  early  call  from  Myr 
tle.  He  had  a  volume  of  Walton's  Polyglot  open  before 
him,  and  was  reading  Job  in  the  original,  when  she 
entered. 

"  Why,  bless  me,  is  that  my  young  friend  Miss  Myrtle 
Hazard  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  I  might  call  you  Keren-Hap- 
puck,  which  is  Hebrew  for  Child  of  Beauty,  and  not  be 
very  far  out  of  the  way,  —  Job's  youngest  daughter,  my 
dear.  And  what  brings  my  young  friend  out  in  such  good 
season  this  morning  ?  Nothing  going  wrong  up  at  our 
ancient  mansion,  The  Poplars,  I  trust  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  talk  with  you,  dear  Master  Gridley,"  she 
answered.  She  looked  as  if  she  did  not  know  just  how  to 
begin. 

"  Anything  that  interests  you,  Myrtle,  interests  me.  I 
think  you  have  some  project  in  that  young  head  of  yours, 
my  child.  Let  us  have  it,  in  all  its  dimensions,  length, 
breadth,  and  thickness.  I  think  I  can  guess,  Myrtle,  that 
we  have  a  little  plan  of  some  kind  or  other.  We  don't 
visit  Papa  Job  quite  so  early  as  this  without  some  special 
cause,  —  do  we,  Miss  Keren-Happuch  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  go  to  the  city  —  to  school,"  Myrtle  said, 
with  the  directness  which  belonged  to  her  nature. 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  want  you  to  do  myself,  Miss 
Myrtle  Hazard.  I  don't  like  to  lose  you  from  the  village, 
but  I  think  we  must  spare  you  for  a  while." 

"  You  're  the  best  and  dearest  man  that  ever  lived. 
What  could  have  made  you  think  of  such  a  thing  for  me, 
Mr.  Gridley  ?  " 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  257 

"  Because  yon  are  ignorant,  my  child,  —  partly.  I  want 
to  see  you  fitted  to  take  a  look  at  the  world  without  feeling 
like  a  little  country  miss.  Has  your  Aunt  Silence  promised 
to  bear  your  expenses  while  you  are  in  the  city  ?  It  will 
cost  a  good  deal  of  money." 

"I  have  not  said  a  word  to  her  about  it.  I  am  sure  I 
don't  know  what  she  would  say.  But  I  have  some  money, 
Mr.  Gridley." 

She  showed  him  a  purse  with  gold,  telling  him  how  she 
came  by  it.  "  There  is  some  silver  besides.  Will  it  be 
enough  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  my  child,  we  must  not  meddle  with  that.  Your 
aunt  will  let  me  put  it  in  the  bank  for  you,  I  think,  where 
it  will  be  safe.  But  that  shall  not  make  any  difference. 
I  have  got  a  little  money  lying  idle,  which  you  may  just  as 
well  have  the  use  of  as  not.  You  can  pay  it  back  perhaps 
some  time  or  other  ;  if  you  did  not,  it  would  not  make  much 
difference.  I  am  pretty  much  alone  in  the  world,  and  ex 
cept  a  book  now  and  then  —  Aut  Hberos  aut  libros,  as  our 
valiant  heretic  has  it,  —  you  ought  to  know  a  little  Latin, 
Myrtle,  but  never  mind  —  I  have  not  much  occasion  for 
money.  You  shall  go  to  the  best  school  that  any  of  our 
cities  can  offer,  Myrtle,  and  you  shall  stay  there  until  we 
agree  that  you  are  fitted  to  come  back  to  us  an  ornament 
to  Oxbow  Village,  and  to  larger  places  than  this  if  you  are 
called  there.  We  have  had  some  talk  about  it,  your  Aunt 
Silence  and  I,  and  it  is  all  settled.  Your  aunt  does  not 
feel  very  rich  just  now,  or  perhaps  she  would  do  more  for 
you.  She  has  many  pious  and  poor  friends,  and  it  keeps 
her  funds  low.  Never  mind,  my  child,  we  will  have  it  all 
arranged  for  you,  and  you  shall  begin  the  year  I860  in 
Madam  Delacoste's  institution  for  young  ladies.  Too  many 

Q 


258  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

rich  girls  and  fashionable  ones  there,  I  fear,  but  you  must 
see  some  of  all  kinds,  and  there  are  very  good  instructors 
in  the  school,  —  I  know  one,  —  he  was  a  college  boy  with 
me,  —  and  you  will  find  pleasant  and  good  companions 
there,  so  he  tells  me  ;  only  don't  be  in  a  hurry  to  choose 
your  friends,  for  the  least  desirable  young  persons  are  very 
apt  to  cluster  about  a  new-comer." 

Myrtle  was  bewildered  with  the  suddenness  of  the  pros 
pect  thus  held  out  to  her.  It  is  a  wonder  that  she  did  not 
bestow  an  embrace  upon  the  worthy  old  master.  Perhaps 
she  had  too  much  tact.  It  is  a  pretty  way  enough  of  telling 
one  that  he  belongs  to  a  past  generation,  but  it  does  tell 
him  that  not  over-pleasing  fact.  Like  the  title  of  Emeri 
tus  Professor,  it  is  a  tribute  to  be  accepted,  hardly  to  be 
longed  for. 

When  the  curtain  rises  again,  it  will  show  Miss  Hazard 
in  a  new  character,  and  surrounded  by  a  new  world. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  259 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

MYRTLE    HAZARD    AT   THE    CITY   SCHOOL. 

MR.  BRADS  HAW  was  obliged  to  leave  town  for  a 
week  or  two  on  business  connected  with  the  great 
land-claim.  On  his  return,  feeling  in  pretty  good  spirits, 
as  the  prospects  looked  favorable,  he  went  to  make  a  call 
at  The  Poplars.  He  asked  first  for  Miss  Hazard. 

"  Bliss  your  soul,  Mr.  Bridshaw,"  answered  Mistress 
Kitty  Fagan,  "  she  's  been  gahn  nigh  a  wake.  It 's  to  the 
city,  to  the  big  school,  they  've  sint  her." 

This  announcement  seemed  to  make  a  deep  impression 
on  Murray  Bradshaw,  for  his  feelings  found  utterance  in 
one  of  the  most  energetic  forms  of  language  to  which  ears 
polite  or  impolite  are  accustomed.  He  next  asked  for 
Miss  Silence,  who  soon  presented  herself.  Mr.  Bradshaw 
asked,  in  a  rather  excited  way,  "Is  it  possible,  Miss 
Withers,  that  your  niece  has  quitted  you  to  go  to  a  city 
school?" 

Miss  Silence  answered,  with  her  chief-mourner  expres 
sion,  and  her  death-chamber  tone :  "  Yes,  she  has  left  us 
for  a  season.  I  trust  it  may  not  be  her  destruction.  I 
had  hoped  in  former  years  that  she  would  become  a  mis 
sionary,  but  I  have  given  up  all  expectation  of  that  now. 
Two  whole  years,  from  the  age  of  four  to  that  of  six,  I 
had  prevailed  upon  her  to  give  up  sugar,  —  the  money  so 
saved  to  go  to  a  graduate  of  our  institution  —  who  was 

afterwards he  labored  among  the  cannibal-islanders. 

I  thought  she  seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  this  small  act  of 


2 GO  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

self-denial,  but  I  have  since  suspected  that  Kitty  gave  her 
secret  lumps.  It  was  by  Mr.  Gridley's  advice  that  she 
went,  and  by  his  pecuniary  assistance.  What  could  I  do  ? 
She  was  bent  on  going,  and  I  was  afraid  she  would  have 
fits,  or  do  something  dreadful,  if  I  did  not  let  her  have  her 
way.  I  am  afraid  she  will  come  back  to  us  spoiled.  She 
has  seemed  so  fond  of  dress  lately,  and  once  she  spoke  of 
learning  —  yes,  Mr.  Bradshaw,  of  learning  to  —  dance  !  I 
wept  when  I  heard  of  it.  Yes,  I  wept." 

That  was  such  a  tremendous  thing  to  think  of,  and 
especially  to  speak  of  in  Mr.  Bradshaw's  presence,  —  for 
the  most  pathetic  image  in  the  world  to  many  women  is 
that  of  themselves  in  tears,  —  that  it  brought  a  return  of 
the  same  overflow,  which  served  as  a  substitute  for  conver 
sation  until  Miss  Badlam  entered  the  apartment. 

Miss  Cynthia  followed  the  same  general  course  of  re 
mark.  They  could  not  help  Myrtle's  going  if  they  tried. 
She  had  always  maintained  that,  if  they  had  only  once 
broke  her  will  when  she  was  little,  they  would  have  kept 
the  upper  hand  of  her;  but  her  will  never  was  broke. 
They  came  pretty  near  it  once,  but  the  child  would  n't 
give  in. 

Miss  Cynthia  went  to  the  door  with  Mr.  Bradshaw, 
and  the  conversation  immediately  became  short  and  in 
formal. 

"  Demonish  pretty  business !  All  up  for  a  year  or 
more,  —  hey  ?  " 

"  Don't  blame  me,  —  I  could  n't  stop  her." 

"  Give  me  her  address,  — I  '11  write  to  her.  Any  young 
men  teach  in  the  school  ?  " 

"  Can't  tell  you.  She  '11  write  to  Olive  and  Bathsheba, 
and  I  '11  find  out  all  about  it." 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  261 

Murray  Bradshaw  went  home  and  wrote  a  long  letter  to 
Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum,  of  24  Carat  Place,  containing  many 
interesting  remarks  and  inquiries,  some  of  the  latter  relat 
ing  to  Madam  Delacoste's  institution  for  the  education  of 
young  ladies. 

While  this  was  going  on  at  Oxbow  Village,  Myrtle  was 
establishing  herself  at  the  rather  fashionable  school  to 
which  Mr.  Gridley  had  recommended  her.  Mrs.  or  Mad 
am  Delacoste's  boarding-school  had  a  name  which  on  the 
whole  it  deserved  pretty  well.  She  had  some  very  good 
instructors  for  girls  who  wished  to  get  up  useful  knowledge 
in  case  they  might  marry  professors  or  ministers.  They 
had  a  chance  to  learn  music,  dancing,  drawing,  and  the 
way  of  behaving  in  company.  There  was  a  chance,  too,  to 
pick  up  available  acquaintances,  for  many  rich  people  sent 
their  daughters  to  the  school,  and  it  was  something  to  have 
been  bred  in  their  company. 

There  was  the  usual  division  of  the  scholars  into  a  first 
and  second  set,  according  to  the  social  position,  mainly  de 
pending  upon  the  fortune,  of  the  families  to  which  they 
belonged.  The  wholesale  dealer's  daughter  very  naturally 
considered  herself  as  belonging  to  a  different  order  from 
the  retail  dealer's  daughter.  The  keeper  of  a  great  hotel 
and  the  editor  of  a  widely  circulated  newspaper  were  con 
sidered  as  ranking  with  the  wholesale  dealers,  and  their 
daughters  belonged  also  to  the  untitled  nobility  which  has 
the  dollar  for  its  armorial  bearing.  The  second  set  had 
most  of  the  good  scholars,  and  some  of  the  prettiest  girls  ; 
but  nobody  knew  anything  about  their  families,  who  lived 
off  the  great  streets  and  avenues,  or  vegetated  in  country 
towns. 


262  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Myrtle  Hazard's  advent  made  something  like  a  sensation. 
They  did  not  know  exactly  what  to  make  of  her.  Hazard  ? 
Hazard  ?  No  great  firm  of  that  name.  No  leading  hotel 
kept  by  any  Hazard,  was  there  ?  No  newspaper  of  note 
edited  by  anybody  called,,  Hazard,  was  there  ?  Came  from 
where  ?  Oxbow  Village.  O,  rural  district.  Yes.  —  Still 
they  could  not  help  owning  that  she  was  handsome,  —  a 
concession  which  of  course  had  to  be  made  with  reser 
vations. 

"  Don't  you  think  she  's  vurry  good-lookin'  ? "  said  a 
Boston  girl  to  a  New  York  girl.  "  I  think  she  's  real 
pooty." 

"  I  dew,  indeed.  I  did  n't  think  she  was  haaf  so  hand 
some  the  f  eeest  time  I  saw  her,"  answered  the  New  York 
girl. 

"  What  a  pity  she  had  n't  been  bawn  in  Bawston ! " 

"  Yes,  and  moved  very  young  to  Ne  Yock  !  " 

"  And  married  a  sarsaparilla  man,  and  lived  in  Fiff 
Avenoo,  and  moved  in  the  fust  society." 

"  Better  dew  that  than  be  strong-mainded,  and  dew  your 
own  cook'n,  and  live  in  your  own  kitch'n." 

"  Don't  forgit  to  send  your  card  when  you  are  Mrs.  Old 
Dr.  Jacob ! " 

"  Indeed  I  shaan't.  What 's  the  name  of  the  alley,  and 
which  bell  ?  "  The  New  York  girl  took  out  a  memoran 
dum-book  as  if  to  put  it  down. 

"Had  n't  you  better  let  me  write  it  for  you,  dear?" 
said  the  Boston  girl.  "  It  is  as  well  to  have  it  legible,  you 
know." 

"  Take  it,"  said  the  New  York  girl.  "  There  's  tew 
York  shill'ns  in  it  when  I  hand  it  to  you." 

"  Your  whole  quarter's  allowance,  I  bullieve,  —  ain't 
it  ?  "  said  the  Boston  girl. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  263 

"  Elegant  manners,  correct  deportment,  and  propriety  of 
language  will  be  strictly  attended  to  in  this  institution. 
The  most  correct  standards  of  pronunciation  will  be  incul 
cated  by  precept  and  example.  It  will  be  the  special  aim 
of  the  teachers  to  educate  their  pupils  out  of  all  provincial 
isms,  so  that  they  may  be  recognized  as  well-bred  English 
scholars  wherever  the  language  is  spoken  in  its  purity."  — 
Extract  from  the  Prospectus  of  Madam  Delacoste's  Board 
ing-School. 

Myrtle  Hazard  was  a  puzzle  to  all  the  girls.  Striking, 
they  all  agreed,  but  then  the  criticisms  began.  Many  of 
the  girls  chattered  a  little  broken  French,  and  one  of  them, 
Miss  Euphrosyne  De  Lacy,  had  been  half  educated  in 
Paris,  so  that  she  had  all  the  phrases  which  are  to  social 
operators  what  his  cutting  instruments  are  to  the  surgeon. 
Her  face  she  allowed  was  handsome  ;  but  her  style,  accord 
ing  to  this  oracle,  was  a  little  bourgeoise,  and  her  air  not  ex 
actly  comme  il  faut.  More  specifically,  she  was  guilty  of 
contours  fortement  prononces,  —  corsage  de  paysanne,  — 
quelque  chose  de  sauvage,  etc.,  etc.  This  girl  prided  her 
self  on  her  figure. 

Miss  Bella  Pool,  (La  Belle  Poule  as  the  demi-Parisian 
girl  had  christened  her,)  the  beauty  of  the  school,  did  not 
think  so  much  of  Myrtle's  face,  but  considered  her  figure 
as  better  than  the  De  Lacy  girl's. 

The  two  sets,  first  and  second,  fought  over  her  as  the 
Greeks  and  Trojans  over  a  dead  hero,  or  the  Yale  College 
societies  over  a  live  freshman.  She  was  nobody  by  her 
connections,  it  is  true,  so  far  as  they  could  find  out,  but 
then,  on  the  other  hand,  she  had  the  walk  of  a  queen,  and 
she  looked  as  if  a  few  stylish  dresses  and  a  season  or  two 
would  make  her  a  belle  of  the  first  water.  She  had  that 


264  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

air  of  indifference  to  their  little  looks  and  whispered  com 
ments  which  is  surest  to  disarm  all  the  critics  of  a  small 
tattling  community.  On  the  other  hand,  she  came  to  this 
school  to  learn,  and  not  to  play ;  and  the  modest  and  more 
plainly  dressed  girls,  whose  fathers  did  not  sell  by  the  car 
go,  or  keep  victualling  establishments  for  some  hundreds  of 
people,  considered  her  as  rather  in  sympathy  with  them  than 
with  the  daughters  of  the  rough-and-tumble  millionnaires 
who  were  grappling  and  rolling  over  each  other  in  the  gold 
en  dust  of  the  great  city  markets. 

She  did  not  mean  to  belong  exclusively  to  either  of  their 
sets.  She  came  with  that  sense  of  manifold  deficiencies, 
and  eager  ambition  to  supply  them,  which  carries  any 
learner  upward,  as  if  on  wings,  over  the  heads  of  the 
mechanical  plodders  and  the  indifferent  routinists.  She 
learned,  therefore,  in  a  way  to  surprise  the  experienced 
instructors.  Her  somewhat  rude  sketching  soon  began 
to  show  something  of  the  artist's  touch.  Her  voice,  which 
had  only  been  taught  to  warble  the  simplest  melodies,  after 
a  little  training  began  to  show  its  force  and  sweetness  and 
flexibility  in  the  airs  that  enchant  drawing-room  audiences. 
She  caught  with  great  readiness  the  manner  of  the  easiest 
girls,  unconsciously,  for  she  inherited  old  social  instincts 
which  became  nature  with  the  briefest  exercise.  Not 
much  license  of  dress  was  allowed  in  the  educational  es 
tablishment  of  Madam  Delacoste,  but  every  girl  had  an 
opportunity  to  show  her  taste  within  the  conventional  lim 
its  prescribed.  And  Myrtle  soon  began  to  challenge  remark 
by  a  certain  air  she  contrived  to  give  her  dresses,  and  the 
skill  with  which  she  blended  their  colors. 

"  Tell  you  what,  girls,"  said  Miss  Berengaria  Topping, 
female  representative  of  the  great  dynasty  that  ruled  over 


THE  GUAKDIAN  ANGEL.  265 

the  world-famous  Planet  Hotel,  "  she  '&  got  style,  lots  of 
it.  I  call  her  perfectly  splendid,  when  she  's  got  up  in  her 
swell  clothes.  That  oriole's  wing  she  wears  in  her  bonnet 
makes  her  look  gorgeous,  —  she  '11  be  a  stunning  Pocahon- 
tas  for  the  next  tableau" 

Miss  Rose  Bugbee,  whose  family  opulence  grew  out  of 
the  only  merchantable  article  a  Hebrew  is  never  known  to 
seek  profit  from,  thought  she  could  be  made  presentable  in 
the  first  circles  if  taken  in  hand  in  good  season.  So  it 
came  about  that,  before  many  weeks  had  passed  over  her 
as  a  scholar  in  the  great  educational  establishment,  she 
might  be  considered  as  on  the  whole  the  most  popular  girl 
in  the  whole  bevy  of  them.  The  studious  ones  admired 
her  for  her  facility  of  learning,  and  her  extraordinary  ap 
petite  for  every  form  of  instruction,  and  the  showy  girls, 
who  were  only  enduring  school  as  the  purgatory  that 
opened  into  the  celestial  world  of  society,  recognized  in 
her  a  very  handsome  young  person,  who  would  be  like  to 
make  a  sensation  sooner  or  later. 

There  were,  however,  it  must  be  confessed,  a  few  who 
considered  themselves  the  thickest  of  the  cream  of  the 
school-girls,  who  submitted  her  to  a  more  trying  ordeal 
than  any  she  had  yet  passe'd. 

"  How  many  horses  does  your  papa  keep  ?  "  asked  Miss 
Florence  Smythe.  "  We  keep  nine  and  a  pony  for  Ed- 
gar." 

Myrtle  had  to  explain  that  she  had  no  papa,  and  that 
they  did  not  keep  any  horses.  Thereupon  Miss  Florence 
Smythe  lost  her  desire  to  form  an  acquaintance,  and  wrote 
home  to  her  mother  (who  was  an  ex-bonnet-maker)  that 
the  school  was  getting  common,  she  was  afraid,  —  they 
were  letting  in  persons  one  knew  nothing  about. 
12 


266  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Miss  Clara  Browne  had  a  similar  curiosity  about  the 
amount  of  plate  used  in  the  household  from  which  Myrtle 
came.  Her  father  had  just  bought  a  complete  silver  ser 
vice.  Myrtle  had  to  own  that  they  used  a  good  deal  of 
china  at  her  own  home,  —  old  china,  which  had  been  a 
hundred  years  in  the  family,  some  of  it. 

"  A  hundred  years  old ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Clara  Browne. 
"  What  queer-looking  stuff  it  must  be  !  Why,  everything 
in  our  house  is  just  as  new  and  bright !  Papaa  had  all 
our  pictures  painted  on  purpose  for  us.  Have  you  got 
any  handsome  pictures  in  your  house  ?  " 

"  We  have  a  good  many  portraits  of  members  of  the 
family,"  she  said  "  some  of  them  older  than  the  china." 

"  How  very  very  odd !  What  do  the  dear  old  things 
look  like?" 

"  One  was  a  great  beauty  in  her  time." 

«  How  jolly  !  " 

"  Another  was  a  young  woman  who  was  put  to  death 
for  her  religion,  —  burned  to  ashes  at  the  stake  in  Queen 
Mary's  time." 

u  How  very  very  wicked  !  It  was  n't  nice  a  bit,  was 
it  ?  Ain't  you  telling  me  stories  ?  Was  that  a  hundred 
years  ago?  —  But  you  've  got  some  new  pictures  and 
things,  have  n't  you  ?  Who  furnished  your  parlors  ?  " 

"  My  great-grandfather,  or  his  father,  I  believe." 

"  Stuff  and  nonsense.  I  don't  believe  it.  What  color 
are  your  carriage-horses  ?  " 

"  Our  woman,  Kitty  Fagan,  told  somebody  once  we  did 
n't  keep  any  horse  but  a  cow." 

"  Not  keep  any  horses  !  Do  for  pity's  sake  let  me  look 
at  your  feet." 

Myrtle  put  out  as  neat  a  little  foot  as  a  shoemaker  ever 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  267 

fitted  with  a  pair  of  number  two.  What  she  would  have  been 
tempted  to  do  with  it,  if  she  had  been  a  boy,  we  will  not 
stop  to  guess.  After  all,  the  questions  amused  her  quite 
as  much  as  the  answers  instructed  Miss  Clara  Browne. 
Of  that  young  lady's  ancestral  claims  to  distinction  there 
is  no  need  of  discoursing.  Her  "  papaa  "  commonly  said 
sir  in  talking  with  a  gentleman,  and  her  "  mammaa  "  would 
once  in  a  while  forget,  and  go  down  the  area  steps  instead 
of  entering  at  the  proper  door  ;  but  they  lived  behind  a 
brown  stone  front,  which  veneers  everybody's  antecedents 
with  a  facing  of  respectability. 

Miss  Clara  Browne  wrote  home  to  her  mother  in  the 
same  terms  as  Miss  Florence  Smythe,  —  that  the  school 
was  getting  dreadful  common,  and  they  were  letting  in 
very  queer  folks. 

Still  another  trial  awaited  Myrtle,  and  one  which  not 
one  girl  in  a  thousand  would  have  been  so  unprepared  to 
meet.  She  knew  absolutely  nothing  of  certain  things  with 
which  the  vast  majority  of  young  persons  were  quite  fa 
miliar. 

There  were  literary  young  ladies,  who  had  read  every 
thing  of  Dickens  and  Thackeray,  and  something  at  least 
of  Sir  Walter,  and  occasionally,  perhaps,  a  French  novel, 
which  they  had  better  have  let  alone.  One  of  the  talking 
young  ladies  of  this  set  began  upon  Myrtle  one  day. 

"  O,  is  n't  Pickwick  nice  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  don't  know,"  Myrtle  replied  ;  "  I  never  tasted  any." 

The  girl  stared  at  her  as  if  she  were  a  crazy  creature. 
"  Tasted  any  !  Why,  I  mean  the  Pickwick  Papers,  Dick- 
ens's  story.  Don't  you  think  they  're  nice  ?  " 

Poor  Myrtle  had  to  confess  that  she  had  never  read 
them,  and  did  n't  know  anything  about  them. 


268  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  What !  did  you  never  read  any  novels  ?  "  said  the 
young  lady. 

"  O,  to  be  sure  I  have,"  said  Myrtle,  blushing  as  she 
thought  of  the  great  trunk  and  its  contents.  "  I  have 
read  Caleb  Williams,  and  Evelina,  and  Tristram  Shandy  " 
(naughty  girl !),  "and  the  Castle  of  Otranto,  and  the  Mys 
teries  of  Udolpho,  and  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  and  Don 
Quixote  —  " 

The  young  lady  burst  out  laughing.  "  Stop  !  stop  !  for 
mercy's  sake,"  she  cried.  "  You  must  be  somebody  that  's 
been  dead  and  buried  and  come  back  to  life  again.  Why 
you  're  Rip  Van  Winkle  in  a  petticoat!  You  ought  to 
powder  your  hair  and  wear  patches." 

"  We  've  got  the  oddest  girl  here,"  this  young  lady  wrote 
home.  "  She  has  n't  read  any  book  that  is  n't  a  thousand 
years  old.  One  of  the  girls  says  she  wears  a  trilobite  for 
a  breastpin  ;  some  horrid  old  stone,  I  believe  that  is,  that 
was  a  bug  ever  so  long  ago.  Her  name,  she  says,  is  Myr 
tle  Hazard,  but  I  call  her  Rip  Van  Myrtle." 

Notwithstanding  the  quiet  life  which  these  young  girls 
were  compelled  to  lead,  they  did  once  in  a  while  have  their 
gatherings,  at  which  a  few  young  gentlemen  were  admitted. 
One  of  these  took  place  about  a  month  after  Myrtle  had 
joined  the  school.  The  girls  were  all  in  their  best,  and  by 
and  by  they  were  to  have  a  tableau.  Myrtle  came  out  in  all 
her  force.  She  dressed  herself  as  nearly  as  she  dared  like 
the  handsome  woman  of  the  past  generation  whom  she  re 
sembled.  The  very  spirit  of  the  dead  beauty  seemed  to  ani 
mate  every  feature  and  every  movement  of  the  young  girl, 
whose  position  in  the  school  was  assured  from  that  moment. 
She  had  a  good  solid  foundation  to  build  upon  in  the  jeal 
ousy  of  two  or  three  of  the  leading  girls  of  the  style  of 


TIIK   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  269 

pretensions  illu-trated  by  some  of  their  talk  which  has  been 
given.  There  is  no  possible  success  without  some  opposi 
tion  as  a  fulcrum  :  force  is  always  aggressive,  and  crowds 
something  or  other,  if  it  does  not  hit  or  trample  on  it. 

The  crudest  cut  of  all  was  the  remark  attributed  to 
Mr.  Livingston  Jenkins,  who  was  what  the  opposition 
girls  just  referred  to  called  the  great  "  swell "  among  the 
privileged  young  gentlemen  who  were  present  at  the  gath 
ering. 

"  Rip  Van  Myrtle,  you  call  that  handsome  girl,  do  you, 
Miss  Clara  ?  By  Jove,  she  's  the  stylishest  of  the  whole 
lot,  to  say  nothing  of  being  a  first-class  beauty.  Of  course 
you  know  I  except  one,  Miss  Clara.  If  a  girl  can  go  to 
sleep  and  wake  up  after  twenty  years  looking  like  that,  I 
know  a  good  many  who  had  better  begin  their  nap  without 
waiting.  If  I  were  Florence  Smythe,  I  'd  try  it,  and  be 
gin  now,  —  eh,  Clara  ?  " 

Miss  Browne  felt  the  praise  of  Myrtle  to  be  slightly 
alleviated  by  the  depreciation  of  Miss  Smythe,  who  had 
long  been  a  rival  of  her  own.  A  little  later  in  the  even 
ing  Miss  Smythe  enjoyed  almost  precisely  the  same  sensa 
tion,  produced  in  a  very  economical  way  by  Mr.  Livingston 
Jenkins's  repeating  pretty  nearly  the  same  sentiments  to 
her,  only  with  a  change  in  the  arrangement  of  the  proper 
names.  The  two  young  ladies  were  left  feeling  compara 
tively  comfortable  with  regard  to  each  other,  each  intend 
ing  to  repeat  Mr.  Livingston  Jenkins's  remark  about  her 
friend  to  such  of  her  other  friends  as  enjoyed  clever  say 
ings,  but  not  at  all  comfortable  with  reference  to  Myrtle 
Hazard,  who  was  evidently  considered  by  the  leading 
"  swell "  of  their  circle  as  the  most  noticeable  personage 
of  the  assembly.  The  individual  exception  in  each  case 


270  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

did  very  well  as  a  matter  of  politeness,  but  they  knew 
well  enough  what  he  meant. 

It  seemed  to  Myrtle  Hazard,  that  evening,  that  she  felt 
the  bracelet  on  her  wrist  glow  with  a  strange,  unaccus 
tomed  warmth.  It  was  as  if  it  had  just  been  unclasped 
from  the  arm  of  a  young  woman  full  of  red  blood  and 
tingling  all  over  with  swift  nerve-currents.  Life  had 
never  looked  to  her  as  it  did  that  evening.  It  was  the 
swan's  first  breasting  the  water,  —  bred  on  the  desert  sand, 
with  vague  dreams  of  lake  and  river,  and  strange  longings 
as  the  mirage  came  and  dissolved,  and  at  length  afloat 
upon  the  sparkling  wave.  She  felt  as  if  she  had  for  the 
first  time  found  her  destiny.  It  was  to  please,  and  so  to 
command,  —  to  rule  with  gentle  sway  in  virtue  of  the 
royal  gift  of  beauty,  —  to  enchant  with  the  commonest 
exercise  of  speech,  through  the  rare  quality  of  a  voice 
which  could  not  help  being  always  gracious  and  winning, 
of  a  manner  which  came  to  her  as  an  inheritance  of  which 
she  had  just  found  the  title.  She  read  in  the  eyes  of  all 
that  she  was  more  than  any  other  the  centre  of  admira 
tion.  Blame  her  who  may,  the  world  was  a  very  splendid 
vision  as  it  opened  before  her  eyes  in  its  long  vista  of 
pleasures  and  of  triumphs.  How  different  the  light  of  these 
bright  saloons  from  the  glimmer  of  the  dim  chamber  at 
The  Poplars !  Silence  Withers  was  at  that  very  moment 
looking  at  the  portraits  of  Anne  Holyoake  and  of  Judith 
Pride.  "  The  old  picture  seems  to  me  to  be  fading  faster 
than  ever,"  she  was  thinking.  But  when  she  held  her 
lamp  before  the  other,  it  seemed  to  her  that  the  picture 
never  was  so  fresh  before,  and  that  the  proud  smile  upon 
its  lips  was  more  full  of  conscious  triumph  than  she  re 
membered  it.  A  reflex,  doubtless,  of  her  own  thoughts, 


THE   GUARDIAN  AXGEL.  271 

for  slie  believed  that  the  martyr  was  weeping  even  in  heaven 
over  her  lost  descendant,  and  that  the  beauty,  changed  to  the 
nature  of  the  malignant  spiritual  company  with  which  she 
had  long  consorted  in  the  under-world,  was  pleasing  her 
self  with  the  thought  that  Myrtle  was  in  due  time  to  bring 
her  news  from  the  Satanic  province  overhead,  where  she 
herself  had  so  long  indulged  in  the  profligacy  of  embonpoint 
and  loveliness. 

The  evening  at  the  school-party  was  to  terminate  with 
some  tableaux.  The  girl  who  had  suggested  that  Myrtle 
would  look  "stunning"  or  "gorgeous"  or  "jolly,"  or 
whatever  the  expression  was,  as  Pocahontas,  was  not  far 
out  of  the  way,  and  it  was  so  evident  to  the  managing 
heads  that  she  would  make  a  fine  appearance  in  that  char 
acter,  that  the  "  Rescue  of  Captain  John  Smith "  was 
specially  got  up  to  show  her  off. 

Myrtle  had  sufficient  reason  to  believe  that  there  Avas 
a  hint  of  Indian  blood  in  her  veins.  It  was  one  of  those 
family  legends  which  some  of  the  members  are  a  little 
proud  of,  and  others  are  willing  to  leave  uninvestigated. 
But  with  Myrtle  it  was  a  fixed  belief  that  she  felt  perfectly 
distinct  currents  of  her  ancestral  blood  at  intervals,  and 
she  had  sometimes  thought  there  were  instincts  and  vague 
recollections  which  must  have  come  from  the  old  warriors 
and  hunters  and  their  dusky  brides.  The  Indians  who 
visited  the  neighborhood  recognized  something  of  their 
own  race  in  her  dark  eyes,  as  the  reader  may  remember 
they  told  the  persons  who  were  searching  after  her.  It 
had  almost  frightened  her  sometimes  to  find  how  like 
a  wild  creature  she  felt  when  alone  in  the  woods.  Her 
senses  had  much  of  that  delicacy  for  which  the  red  people 
are  noted,  and  she  often  thought  she  could  follow  the  trail 


272  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

of  an  enemy,  if  she  wished  to  track  one  through  the 
forest,  as  unerringly  as  if  she  were  a  Pequot  or  a  Mo- 
hegan. 

It  was  a  strange  feeling  that  came  over  Myrtle,  as  they 
dressed  her  for  the  part  she  was  to  take.  Had  she  never 
worn  that  painted  robe  before  ?  Was  it  the  first  time  that 
these  strings  of  wampum  had  ever  rattled  upon  her  neck 
and  arms  ?  And  could  it  be  that  the  plume  of  eagle's 
feathers  with  which  they  crowned  her  dark,  fast-lengthen 
ing  locks  had  never  shadowed  her  forehead  until  now  ? 
She  felt  herself  carried  back  into  the  dim  ages  Avhen  the 
wilderness  was  yet  untrodden  save  by  the  feet  of  its  native 
lords.  Think  of  her  wild  fancy  as  we  may,  she  felt  as  if 
that  dusky  woman  of  her  midnight  vision  on  the  river 
were  .breathing  for  one  hour  through  her  lips.  If  this 
belief  had  lasted,  it  is  plain  enough  where  it  would  have 
carried  her.  But  it  came  into  her  imagination  and  vivify 
ing  consciousness  with  the  putting  on  of  her  unwonted 
costume,  and  might  well  leave  her  when  she  put  it  off. 
It  is  not  for  us,  who  tell  only  what  happened,  to  solve 
these  mysteries  of  the  seeming  admission  of  unhoused 
souls  into  the  fleshly  tenements  belonging  to  air-breathing 
personalities.  A  very  little  more,  and  from  that  evening 
forward  the  question  would  have  been  treated  in  full  in  all 
the  works  on  medical  jurisprudence  published  throughout 
the  limits  of  Christendom.  The  story  must  be  told  or  we 
should  not  be  honest  with  the  reader. 

TABLEAU  1.  Captain  John  Smith  (Miss  Euphrosyne 
de  Lacy)  was  to  be  represented  prostrate  and  bound, 
ready  for  execution  ;  Powhatan  (Miss  Florence  Smythe) 
sitting  upon  a  log ;  savages  with  clubs  (Misses  Clara 
Browne,  A.  Van  Boodle,  E.  Van  Boodle,  Heister,  Booster, 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  273 

etc.,  etc.)  standing  around ;  Pocahontas  holding  the  knife 
in  her  hand,  ready  to  cut  the  cords  with  which  Captain 
John  Smith  is  bound.  —  Curtain. 

TABLEAU  2.  Captain  John  Smith  released  and  kneel 
ing  before  Pocahontas,  whose  hand  is  extended  in  the  act 
of  raising  hirn  and  presenting  him  to  her  father.  Savages 
in  various  attitudes  of  surprise.  Clubs  fallen  from  their 
hands.  Strontian  flame  to  be  kindled.  —  Curtain. 

This  was  a  portion  of  the  programme  for  the  evening, 
as  arranged  behind  the  scenes.  The  first  part  went  off 
with  wonderful  eclat,  and  at  its  close  there  were  loud  cries 
for  Pocahontas.  She  appeared  for  a  moment.  Bouquets 
were  flung  to  her ;  and  a  wreath,  which  one  of  the  young 
ladies  had  expected  for  herself  in  another  part,  was  tossed 
upon  the  stage,  and  laid  at  her  feet.  The  curtain  fell. 

"  Put  the  wreath  on  her  for  the  next  tableau"  some 
of  them  whispered,  just  as  the  curtain  was  going  to  rise, 
and  one  of  the  girls  hastened  to  place  it  upon  her  head. 

The  disappointed  young  lady  could  not  endure  it,  and, 
in  a  spasm  of  jealous  passion,  sprang  at  Myrtle,  snatched 
it  from  her  head,  and  trampled  it  under  her  feet  at  the 
very  instant  the  curtain  was  rising,  j  With  a  cry  which 
some  said  had  the  blood-chilling  tone  of  an  Indian's 
battle-shriek,  Myrtle  caught  the  knife  up,  and  raised  her 
arm  against  the  girl  who  had  thus  rudely  assailed  her. 
The  girl  sank  to  the  ground,  covering  her  eyes  in  her  terror. 
Myrtle,  with  her  arm  still  lifted,  and  the  blade  glistening 
in  her  hand,  stood  over  her,  rigid  as  if  she  had  been  sud 
denly  changed  to  stone.  Many  of  those  looking  on  thought 
all  this  was  a  part  of  the  show,  and  were  thrilled  with  the 
wonderful  acting.  Before  those  immediately  around  her 
had  had  time  to  recover  from  the  palsy  of  their  fright, 
12*  K 


274  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Myrtle  had  flung  the  knife  away  from  her,  and  was  kneel 
ing,  her  head  bowed  and  her  hands  crossed  upon  her 
breast.  The  audience  went  into  a  rapture  of  applause  as 
the  curtain  came  suddenly  down  ;  but  Myrtle  had  for 
gotten  all  but  the  dread  peril  she  had  just  passed,  and 
was  thanking  God  that  his  angel  —  her  own  protecting 
spirit,  as  it  seemed  to  her  —  had  stayed  the  arm  which 
a  passion  such  as  her  nature  had  never  known,  such  as  she 
believed  was  alien  to  her  truest  self,  had  lifted  with  dead 
liest  purpose.  She  alone  knew  how  extreme  the  danger  had 
been.  "  She  meant  to  scare  her,  —  that 's  all,"  they  said. 
But  Myrtle  tore  the  eagle's  feathers  from  her  hair,  and 
stripped  off  her  colored  beads,  and  threw  off  her  painted 
robe.  The  metempsychosis  was  far  too  real  for  her  to  let 
her  wear  the  semblance  of  the  savage  from  whom,  as  she 
believed,  had  come  the  lawless  impulse  at  the  thought 
of  which  her  soul  recoiled  in  horror. 

"  Pocahontas  has  got  a  horrid  headache,"  the  managing 
young  ladies  gave  it  out,  "  and  can't  come  to  time  for  the 
last  tableau"  So  this  all  passed  over,  not  only  without 
loss  of  credit  to  Myrtle,  but  with  no  small  addition  to  her 
local  fame,  —  for  it  must  have  been  acting;  "  and  was  n't  it 
stunning  to  see  her  with  that  knife,  looking  as  if  she  was 
going  to  stab  Bella,  or  to  scalp  her,  or  something  ?  " 

As  Master  Gridley  had  predicted,  and  as  is  the  caso 
commonly  with  new-comers  at  colleges  and  schools,  Myrtle 
had  come  first  in  contact  with  those  who  were  least  agree 
able  to  meet.  The  low-bred  youth  who  amuse  themselves 
with  scurvy  tricks  on  freshmen,  and  the  vulgar  girls  who 
try  to  show  off  their  gentility  to  those  whom  they  think  less 
important  than  themselves,  are  exceptions  in  every  institu 
tion  ;  but  they  make  themselves  odiously  prominent  before 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  275 

the  quiet  and  modest  young  people  have  had  time  to  gain 
the  new  scholar's  confidence.  Myrtle  found  friends  in  due 
time,  some  of  them  daughters  of  rich  people,  some  poor 
girls,  who  came  with  the  same  sincerity  of  purpose  as  her 
self.  But  not  one  was  her  match  in  the  facility  of  acquir 
ing  knowledge.  Not  one  promised  to  make  such  a  mark 
in  society,  if  she  found  an  opening  into  its  loftier  circles. 
She  was  by  no  means  ignorant  of  her  natural  gifts,  and  she 
cultivated  them  with  the  ambition  which  would  not  let  her 
rest. 

During  her  stay  at  the  great  school,  she  made  but 
one  visit  to  Oxbow  Village.  She  did  not  try  to  startle 
the  good  people  with  her  accomplishments,  but  they  were 
surprised  at  the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  her. 
Her  dress  was  hardly  more  showy,  for  she  was  but  a 
school-girl,  but  it  fitted  her  more  gracefully.  She  had 
gained  a  softness  of  expression,  and  an  ease  in  conver 
sation,  which  produced  their  effect  on  all  with  whom  she 
came  in  contact.  Her  aunt's  voice  lost  something  of  its 
plaintiveness  in  talking  with  her.  Miss  Cynthia  listened 
with  involuntary  interest  to  her  stories  of  school  and  school 
mates.  Master  Byles  Gridley  accepted  her  as  the  great 
success  of  his  life,  and  determined  to  make  her  his  chief 
heiress,  if  there  was  any  occasion  for  so  doing.  Cyprian 
told  Bathsheba  that  Myrtle  must  come  to  be  a  great  lady. 
Gifted  Hopkins  confessed  to  Susan  Posey  that  he  was 
afraid  of  her,  since  she  had  been  to  the  great  city  school. 
She  knew  too  much  and  looked  too  much  like  a  queen,  for 
a  village  boy  to  talk  with. 

Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  tried  all  his  fascinations 
upon  her,  but  she  parried  compliments  so  well,  and  put  off 
all  his  nearer  advances  so  dexterously,  that  he  could  not 


276  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

adva.i^e  beyond  the  region  of  florid  courtesy,  and  never  got 
a  chance,  if  so  disposed,  to  risk  a  question  which  he  would 
not  ask  rashly,  believing  that,  if  Myrtle  once  said  No,  there 
would  be  little  chance  of  her  ever  saying  Yes. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  277 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

MUSTERING   OF    FORCES. 

NOT  long  after  the  tableau  performance  had  made 
Myrtle  Hazard's  name  famous  in  the  school  and 
among  the  friends  of  the  scholars,  she  received  the  very 
flattering  attention  of  a  call  from  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum, 
of  24  Carat  Place.  This  was  in  consequence  of  a  sugges 
tion  from  Mr.  Livingston  Jenkins,  a  particular  friend  of  the 
family. 

"  They  've  got  a  demonish  splendid  school-girl  over 
there,"  he  said  to  that  lady,  —  "  made  the  stunningest-look- 
ing  Pocahontas  at  the  show  there  the  other  day.  Demon 
ish  plucky-looking  filly  as  ever  you  saw.  Had  a  row  with 
another  girl,  —  gave  the  war-whoop,  and  went  at  her  with 
a  knife.  Festive,  —  hey  ?  Say  she  only  meant  to  scare 
her,  —  looked  as  if  she  meant  to  stick  her,  anyhow.  Splen 
did  style.  Why  can't  you  go  over  to  the  shop  and  make 
'em  trot  her  out  ?  " 

The  lady  promised  Mr.  Livingston  Jenkins  that  she 
certainly  would,  just  as  soon  as  she  could  find  a  moment's 
leisure,  —  which,  as  she  had  nothing  in  the  world  to  do, 
was  not  likely  to  be  very  soon.  Myrtle  in  the  mean  time 
was  busy  with  her  studies,  little  dreaming  what  an  extraor 
dinary  honor  was  awaiting  her. 

That  rare  accident  in  the  lives  of  people  who  have 
nothing  to  do,  a  leisure  morning,  did  at  last  occur.  An 
elegant  carriage,  with  a  coachman  in  a  wonderful  cape, 
seated  on  a  box  lofty  as  a  throne,  and  wearing  a  hat-band 


278  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

as  brilliant  as  a  coronet,  stopped  at  the  portal  of  Madam 
Delacoste's  establishment.  A  card  was  sent  in  bearing 
the  open  sesame  of  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum,  the  great  lady 
of  24  Carat  Place.  Miss  Myrtle  Hazard  was  summoned 
as  a  matter  of  course,  and  the  fashionable  woman  and  the 
young  girl  sat  half  an  hour  together  in  lively  conversation. 

Myrtle  was  fascinated  by  her  visitor,  who  had  that 
flattering  manner  which,  to  those  not  experienced  in  the 
world's  ways,  seems  to  imply  unfathomable  depths  of  dis 
interested  devotion.  Then  it  was  so  delightful  to  look 
upon  a  perfectly  appointed  woman,  —  one  who  was  as 
artistically  composed  as  a  poem  or  an  opera,  —  in  whose 
costume  a  kind  of  various  rhythm  undulated  in  one  fluent 
harmony,  from  the  spray  that  nodded  on  her  bonnet  to  the 
rosette  that  blossomed  on  her  sandal.  As  for  the  lady, 
she  was  captivated  with  Myrtle.  There  is  nothing  that 
your  fashionable  woman,  who  has  ground  and  polished  her 
own  spark  of  life  into  as  many  and  as  glittering  social 
facets  as  it  will  bear,  has  a  greater  passion  for  than  a 
large  rough  diamond,  which  knows  nothing  of  the  sea  of 
light  it  imprisons,  and  which  it  will  be  her  pride  to  have 
cut  into  a  brilliant  under  her  own  eye,  and  to  show  the 
world  for  its  admiration  and  her  own  reflected  glory. 
Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  had  taken  the  entire  inventory  of 
Myrtle's  natural  endowments  before  the  interview  was 
over.  She  had  no  marriageable  children,  and  she  was 
thinking  what  a  killing  bait  Myrtle  would  be  at  one  of  her 
stylish  parties. 

She  soon  got  another  letter  from  Mr.  William  Murray 
Bradshaw,  which  explained  the  interest  he  had  taken  in 
Madam  Delacoste's  school,  —  all  which  she  knew  pretty 
nearly  beforehand,  for  she  had  found  out  a  good  part  of 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  279 

Myrtle's  history  in  the  half-hour  they  had  spent  in  com 
pany. 

"  I  had  a  particular  reason  for  my  inquiries  about  the 
school,"  he  wrote.  "  There  is  a  young  girl  there  I  take 
an  interest  in.  She  is  handsome  and  interesting,  and  — 
though  it  is  a  shame  to  mention  such  a  thing  —  has  possi 
bilities  in  the  way  of  fortune  not  to  be  undervalued. 
Why  can't  you  make  her  acquaintance  and  be  civil  to 
her  ?  A  country  girl,  but  fine  old  stock,  and  will  make 
a  figure  some  time  or  other,  I  tell  you.  Myrtle  Hazard, 
—  that 's  her  name.  A  mere  school-girl.  Don't  be  ma 
licious  and  badger  me  about  her,  but  be  polite  to  her. 
Some  of  these  country  girls  have  got  *  blue  blood '  in  them, 
let  me  tell  you,  and  show  it  plain  enough." 

("  In  huckleberry  season'! ")  said  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketch- 
urn,  in  a  parenthesis,  —  and  went  on  reading. 

"  Don't  think  I  'm  one  of  your  love-in-a-cottage  sort,  to 
have  my  head  turned  by  a  village  beauty.  I  've  got 
a  career  before  me,  Mrs.  K.,  and  I  know  it.  But  this  is 
one  of  my  pets,  and  I  want  you  to  keep  an  eye  on  her. 
Perhaps  when  she  leaves  school  you  would  n't  mind  ask 
ing  her  to  come  and  stay  with  you  a  little  while.  Possibly 
I  may  come  and  see  how  she  is  getting  on  if  you  do,  — - 
won't  that  tempt  you,  Mrs.  C.  K.  ?  " 

Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  wrote  back  to  her  relative  how 
she  had  already  made  the  young  lady's  acquaintance. 

"  Livingston  Jenkins  (you  remember  him)  picked  her 
out  of  the  whole  lot  of  girls  as  the  *  prettiest  filly  in  the 
stable.'  That's  his  horrid  way  of  talking.  But  your 
young  milkmaid  is  really  charming,  and  will  come  into 
form  like  a  Derby  three-year-old.  There,  now,  I  've 
caught  that  odious  creature's  horse-talk,  myself.  You  're 
dead  in  love  with  this  girl,  Murray,  you  know  you  are. 


280  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  After  all,  I  don't  know  but  you  're  right.  You  would 
make  a  good  country  lawyer  enough,  I  don't  doubt.  I 
used  to  think  you  had  your  ambitions,  but  never  mind. 
If  you  choose  to  risk  yourself  on  *  possibilities,'  it  is  not 
my  affair,  and  she  's  a  beauty,  —  there  's  no  mistake  about 
that. 

"There  are  some  desirable  partis  at  the  school  with 
your  dulcinea.  There's  Rose  Bugbee.  That  last  name 
is  a  good  one  to  be  married  from.  Rose  is  a  nice  girl,  — 
there  are  only  two  of  them.  The  estate  will  cut  up  like 
one  of  the  animals  it  was  made  out  of,  —  you  know,  — 
the  sandwich-quadruped.  Then  there  's  Berengaria.  Old 
Topping  owns  the  Planet  Hotel  among  other  things,  — 
so  big,  they  say,  there  's  always  a  bell  ringing  from  some 
body's  room  day  and  night  the  year  round.  Only  child 
—  unit  and  six  ciphers  —  carries  diamonds  loose  in  her 
pocket  —  that 's  the  story  —  good-looking  —  lively  —  a  lit 
tle  slangy  —  called  Livingston  Jenkins  ;  Living  Jingo'  to 
his  face  one  day.  I  want  you  to  see  my  lot  before  you  do 
anything  serious.  You  owe  something  to  the  family,  Mr. 
William  Murray  Bradshaw !  But  you  must  suit  yourself, 
after  all :  if  you  are  contented  with  a  humble  position  in 
life,  it  is  nobody's  business  that  I  know  of.  Only  I  know 
what  life  is,  Murray  B.  Getting  married  is  jumping  over 
board,  any  way  you  look  at  it,  and  if  you  must  save  some 
woman  from  drowning  an  old  maid,  try  to  find  one  with  a 
cork  jacket,  or  she  '11  carry  you  down  with,  her." 

Murray  Bradshaw  was  calculating  enough,  but  he  shook 
his  head  over  this  letter.  It  was  too  demonish  cold-blooded 
for  him,  he  said  to  himself.  (Men  cannot  pardon  women 
for  saying  aloud  what  they  do  not  hesitate  to  think  in  si 
lence  themselves.)  Never  .mind,  —  he  must  have  Mrs. 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  28V* 

Clymer  Ketchum's  house  and  influence  for  his  own  pur 
poses.  Myrtle  Hazard  must  become  her  guest,  and  then, 
if  circumstances  were  favorable,  he  was  certain  of  obtain 
ing  her  aid  in  his  project. 

The  opportunity  to  invite  Myrtle  to  the  great  mansion 
presented  itself  unexpectedly.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1861 
there  were  some  cases  of  sickness  in  Madam  Delacoste's  es 
tablishment,  which  led  to  closing  the  school  for  a  while. 
Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  took  advantage  of  the  dispersion  of 
the  scholars  to  ask  Myrtle  to  come  and  spend  some  weeks 
with  her.  There  were  reasons  why  this  was  more  agreea 
ble  to  the  young  girl  than  returning  to  Oxbow  Village,  and 
she  very  gladly  accepted  the  invitation. 

It  was  very  remarkable  that  a  man  living  as  Master 
Byles  Gridley  had  lived  for  so  long  a  time  should  all  at 
once  display  such  liberality  as  he  showed  to  a  young 
woman  who  had  no  claim  upon  him,  except  that  he  had 
rescued  her  from  the  consequences  of  her  own  imprudence 
and  warned  her  against  impending  dangers.  Perhaps  he 
cared  more  for  her  than  if  the  obligation  had  been  the 
other  way,  —  students  of  human  nature  say  it  is  commonly 
so.  At  any  rate,  either  he  had  ampler  resources  than  it 
was  commonly  supposed,  or  he  was  imprudently  giving 
way  to  his  generous  impulses,  or  he  thought  he  was  making 
advances  which  would  in  due  time  be  returned  to  him. 
Whatever  the  reason  was,  he  furnished  her  with  means, 
not  only  for  her  necessary  expenses,  but  sufficient  to  afford 
her  many  of  the  elegances  which  she  would  be  like  to 
want  in  the  fashionable  society  with  which  she  was  for  a 
short  time  to  mingle. 

Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  was  so  well  pleased  with  the 
young  lady  she  was  entertaining,  that  she  thought  it  worth 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

while  to  give  a  party  while  Myrtle  was  staying  with  her. 
She  had  her  jealousies  and  rivalries,  as  women  of  the  world 
will,  sometimes,  and  these  may  have  had  their  share  in 
leading  her  to  take  the  trouble  a  large  party  involved. 
She  was  tired  of  the  airs  of  Mrs.  Pinnikle,  who  was  of  the 
great  Apex  family,  and  her  terribly  accomplished  daughter 
Rhadamaritha,  and  wanted  to  crush  the  young  lady,  and 
jaundice  her  mother,  with  a  girl  twice  as  brilliant  and  ten 
times  handsomer.  She  was  very  willing,  also,  to  take  the 
nonsense  out  of  the  Capsheaf  girls,  who  thought  themselves 
the  most  stylish  personages  of  their  city  world,  and  would 
bite  their  lips  well  to  see  themselves  distanced  by  a  coun 
try  miss. 

In  the  mean  time  circumstances  were  promising  to  bring 
into  Myrtle's  neighborhood  several  of  her  old  friends  and 
admirers.  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  had  written  to  Murray 
Bradshaw  that  she  had  asked  his  pretty  milkmaid  to  come 
and  stay  awhile  with  her,  but  he  had  been  away  on  busi 
ness,  and  only  arrived  in  the  city  a  day  or  two  before 
the  party.  But  other  young  fellows  had  found  out  the 
attractions  of  the  girl  who  was  "hanging  out  at  the  Clymer 
Ketchum  concern,"  and  callers  were  plenty,  reducing  tete- 
a-tetes  in  a  corresponding  ratio.  He  did  get  one  opportu 
nity,  however,  and  used  it  well.  They  had  so  many  things 
to  talk  about  in  common,  that  she  could  not  help  finding 
him  good  company.  She  might  well  be  pleased,  for  he 
was  an  adept  in  the  curious  art  of  being  agreeable,  as  other 
people  are  in  chess  or  billiards,  and  had  made  a  special 
study  of  her  tastes,  as  a  physician  studies  a  patient's  consti 
tution.  What  he  wanted  was  to  get  her  thoroughly  in 
terested  in  himself,  and  to  maintain  her  in  a  receptive 
condition  until  such  time  as  he  should  be  ready  for  a  final 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  283 

move.  Any  day  might  furnish  the  decisive  motive ;  in 
the  mean  time  he  wished  only  to  hold  her  as  against  all 
others. 

It  was  well  for  her,  perhaps,  that  others  had  flattered 
her  into  a  certain  consciousness  of  her  own  value.  She 
felt  her  veins  full  of  the  same  rich  blood  as  that  which  had 
flushed  the  cheeks  of  handsome  Judith  in  the  long  summer 
of  her  triumph.  Whether  it  was  vanity,  or  pride,  or  only 
the  instinctive  sense  of  inherited  force  and  attraction,  it  was 
the  best  of  defences.  The  golden  bracelet  on  her  wrist 
seemed  to  have  brought  as  much  protection  with  it  as  if  it 
had  been  a  shield  over  her  heart. 

But  far  away  in  Oxbow  Village  other  events  were  in 
preparation.  The  "  fugitive  pieces  "  of  Mr.  Gifted  Hop 
kins  Lad  now  reached  a  number  so  considerable,  that,  if 
collected  and  printed  in  large  type,  with  plenty  of  what 
the  unpleasant  printers  call  "  fat,"  —  meaning  thereby 
blank  spaces,  —  upon  a  good,  substantial,  not  to  say  thick 
paper,  they  might  perhaps  make  a  volume  which  would 
have  substance  enough  to  bear  the  title,  printed  lengthwise 
along  the  back,  "  Hopkins's  Poems."  Such  a  volume  that 
author  had  in  contemplation.  It  was  to  be  the  literary 
event  of  the  year  1861. 

He  could  not  mature  such  a  project,  one  which  he  had 
been  for  some  time  contemplating,  without  consulting  Mr. 
Byles.  Gridley,  who,  though  he  had  not  unfrequently  re 
pressed  the  young  poet's  too  ardent  ambition,  had  yet 
always  been  kind  and  helpful. 

Mr.  Gridley  was  seated  in  his  large  arm-chair,  indulging 
himself  in  the  perusal  of  a  page  or  two  of  his  own  work 
before  repeatedly  referred  to.  His  eye  was  glistening,  for 
it  had  just  rested  on  the  following  passage  :  — 


284  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  There  is  infinite  pathos  in  unsuccessful  authorship. 
The  book  that  perishes  unread  is  the  deaf  mute  of  litera 
ture.  The  great  asylum  of  Oblivion  is  fall  of  such,  making 
inaudible  signs  to  each  other  in  leaky  garrets  and  unattain 
able  dusty  upper  shelves." 

He  shut  the  book,  for  the  page  grew  a  little  dim  as  he 
finished  this  elegiac  sentence,  and  sighed  to  think  how 
much  more  keenly  he  felt  its  truth  than  when  it  was  writ 
ten,  —  than  on  that  memorable  morning  when  he  saw  the 
advertisement  in  all  the  papers,  "  This  day  published, 
1  Thoughts  on  the  Universe.  By  Byles  Gridley,  A.  M.'  " 

At  that  moment  he  heard  a  knock  at  his  door.  He 
closed  his  eyelids  forcibly  for  ten  seconds,  opened  them, 
and  said  cheerfully,  "  Come  in ! " 

Gifted  Hopkins  entered.  He  had  a  collection  of  manu 
scripts  in  his  hands  which  it  seemed  to  him  would  fill 
a  vast  number  of  pages.  He  did  not  know  that  manu 
script  is  to  type  what  fresh  dandelions  are  to  the  dish  of 
greens  that  comes  to  table,  of  which  last  Nurse  Byloe,  who 
considered  them  very  wholesome  spring  grazing  for  her 
patients,  used  to  say  that  they  "  biled  down  dreadful." 

"  I  have  brought  the  autographs  of  my  poems,  Master 
Gridley,  to  consult  you  about  making  arrangements  for 
publication.  They  have  been  so  well  received  by  the  pub 
lic  and  the  leading  critics  of  this  part  of  the  State,  that  I 
think  of  having  them  printed  in  a  volume.  I  am  going  to 
the  city  for  that  purpose.  My  mother  has  given  her  con 
sent.  I  wish  to  ask  you  several  business  questions.  Shall 
I  part  with  the  copyright  for  a  downright  sum  of  money, 
which  I  understand  some  prefer  doing,  or  publish  on 
shares,  or  take  a  percentage  on  the  sales  ?  These,  I  be 
lieve,  are  the  different  ways  taken  by  authors." 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  285 

Mr.  Gridley  was  altogether  too  considerate  to  reply  with 
the  words  which  would  most  naturally  have  come  to  his 
lips.  He  waited  as  if  he  were  gravely  pondering  the  im 
portant  questions  just  put  to  him,  all  the  while  looking  at 
Gifted  with  a  tenderness  which  no  one  who  had  not  buried 
one  of  his  soul's  children  could  have  felt  for  a  young  au 
thor  trying  to  get  clothing  for  his  newborn  intellectual  off 
spring. 

"  I  think,"  he  said  presently,  "  you  had  better  talk  with 
an  intelligent  and  liberal  publisher,  and  be  guided  by  his 
advice.  I  can  put  you  in  correspondence  with  such  a 
person,  and  you  had  better  trust  him  than  me  a  great  deal. 
Why  don't  you  send  your  manuscript  by  mail  ?  " 

"  What,  Mr.  Gridley  ?  Trust  my  poems,  some  of  which 
are  unpublished,  to  the  post-office  ?  No,  sir,  I  could  never 
make  up  my  mind  to  such  a  risk.  I  mean  to  go  to  the 
city  myself,  and  read  them  to  some  of  the  leading  pub 
lishers.  I  don't  want  to  pledge  myself  to  any  one  of  them. 
I  should  like  to  set  them  bidding  against  each  other  for  the 
copyright,  if  I  sell  it  at  all." 

Mr.  Gridley  gazed  upon  the  innocent  youth  with  a 
sweet  wonder  in  his  eyes  that  made  him  look  like  an  angel, 
a  little  damaged  in  the  features  by  time,  but  full  of  celes 
tial  feelings. 

"  It  will  cost  you  something  to  make  this  trip,  Gifted. 
Have  you  the  means  to  pay  for  your  journey  and  your 
stay  at  a  city  hotel  ?  " 

Gifted  blushed.  "  My  mother  has  laid  by  a  small  sum 
for  me,"  he  said.  "  She  knows  some  of  my  poems  by 
heart,  and  she  wants  to  see  them  all  in  print." 

Master  Gridley  closed  his  eyes  very  firmly  again,  as  if 
thinking,  and  opened  them  as  soon  as  the  foolish  film  had 


286  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

left  them.  He  had  read  many  a  page  of  "  Thoughts  on 
the  Universe  "  to  his  own  old  mother,  long,  long  years  ago, 
and  she  had  often  listened  with  tears  of  modest  pride  that 
Heaven  had  favored  her  with  a  son  so  full  of  genius. 

"I'll  tell  you  what,  Gifted,"  he  said.  "I  have  been 
thinking  for  a  good  while  that  I  would  make  a  visit  to  the 
city,  and  if  you  have  made  up  your  mind  to  try  what  you 
can  do  with  the  publishers,  I  will  take  you  with  me  as  a 
companion.  It  will  be  a  saving  to  you  and  your  good 
mother,  for  I  shall  bear  the  expenses  of  the  expedition." 

Gifted  Hopkins  came  very  near  going  down  on  his 
knees.  He  was  so  overcome  with  gratitude  that  it  seemed 
as  if  his  very  coat-tails  wagged  with  his  emotion. 

"  Take  it  quietly,"  said  Master  Gridley.  "  Don't  make 
a  fool  of  yourself.  Tell  your  mother  to  have  some  clean 
shirts  and  things  ready  for  you,  and  we  will  be  off  day 
after  to-morrow  morning." 

Gifted  hastened  to  impart  the  joyful  news  to  his  mother, 
and  to  break  the  fact  to  Susan  Posey  that  he  was  about  to 
leave  them  for  a  while,  and  rush  into  the  deliriums  and 
dangers  of  the  great  city. 

Susan  smiled.  Gifted  hardly  knew  whether  to  be 
pleased  with  her  sympathy,  or  vexed  that  she  did  not  take 
his  leaving  more  to  heart.  The  smile  held  out  bravely  for 
about  a  quarter  of  a  minute.  Then  there  came  on  a  little 
twitching  at  the  corners  of  the  mouth.  Then  the  blue 
eyes  began  to  shine  with  a  kind  of  veiled  glimmer.  Then 
the  blood  came  up  into  her  cheeks  with  a  great  rush,  as  if 
the  heart  had  sent  up  a  herald  with  a  red  flag  from  the 
citadel  to  know  what  was  going  on  at  the  outworks.  The 
message  that  went  back  was  of  discomfiture  and  capitula 
tion.  Poor  Susan  was  overcome,  and  gave  herself  up  to 
weeping  and  sobbing. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  287 

The  sight  was  too  much  for  the  young  poet.  In  a  wild 
burst  of  passion  he  seized  her  hand,  and  pressed  it  to  his 
lips,  exclaiming,  «  Would  that  you  could  be  mine  forever ! " 
and  Susan  forgot  all  that  she  ought  to  have  remembered, 
and,  looking  half  reproachfully  but  half  tenderly  through 
her  tears,  said,  in  tones  of  infinite  sweetness,  "  0  Gifted ! " 


288  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

THE    POET   AND   THE   PUBLISHER. 

IT  was  settled  that  Master  Byles  Gridley  and  Mr.  Gifted 
Hopkins  should  leave  early  in  the  morning  of  the  day 
appointed,  to  take  the  nearest  train  to  the  city.  Mrs.  Hop 
kins  labored  hard  to  get  them  ready,  so  that  they  might 
make  a  genteel  appearance  among  the  great  people  whom 
they  would  meet  in  society.  She  brushed  up  Mr.  Grid- 
ley's  best  black  suit,  and  bound  the  cuffs  of  his  dress-coat, 
which  were  getting  a  little  worried.  She  held  his  honest- 
looking  hat  to  the  fire,  and  smoothed  it  while  it  was  warm, 
until  one  would  have  thought  it  had  just  been  ironed  by  the 
hatter  himself.  She  had  his  boots  and  shoes  brought  into 
a  more  brilliant  condition  than  they  had  ever  known :  if 
Gifted  helped,  it  was  to  his  credit  as  much  as  if  he  had 
shown  his  gratitude  by  polishing  off  a  copy  of  verses  in 
praise  of  his  benefactor. 

When  she  had  got  Mr.  Gridley's  encumbrances  in  readi 
ness  for  the  journey,  she  devoted  herself  to  fitting  out  her 
son  Gifted.  First,  she  had  down  from  the  garret  a  capa 
cious  trunk,  of  solid  wood,  but  covered  with  leather,  and 
adorned  with  brass-headed  nails,  by  the  cunning  disposition 
of  which,  also,  the  paternal  initials  stood  out  on  the  rounded 
lid,  in  the  most  conspicuous  manner.  It  was  his  father's 
trunk,  and  the  first  thing  that  went  into  it,  as  the  widow 
lifted  the  cover,  and  the  smothering  shut-up  smell  struck 
an  old  chord  of  associations,  was  a  single  tear-drop.  How 
well  she  remembered  the  time  when  she  first  unpacked  it 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  289 

for  her  young  husband,  and  the  white  shirt  bosoms  showed 
their  snowy  plaits  !     O  dear,  dear  ! 

But  women  decant  their  affection,  sweet  and  sound,  out 
of  the  old  bottles  into  the  new  ones,  —  off  from  the  lees  of 
the  past  generation,  clear  and  bright,  into  the  clean  vessels 
just  made  ready  to  receive  it.  Gifted  Hopkins  was  his 
mother's  idol,  and  no  wonder.  She  had  not  only  the  com 
mon  attachment  of  a  parent  for  him,  as  her  offspring,  but 
she  felt  that  her  race  was  to  be  rendered  illustrious  by  his 
genius,  and  thought  proudly  of  the  time  when  some  future 
biographer  would  mention  her  own  humble  name,  to  be 
held  in  lasting  remembrance  as  that  of  the  mother  of 
Hopkins. 

So  she  took  great  pains  to  equip  this  brilliant  but  inex 
perienced  young  man  with  everything  he  could  by  any 
possibility  need  during  his  absence.  The  great  trunk  filled 
itself  until  it  bulged  with  its  contents  like  a  boa-constrictor 
who  has  swallowed  his  blanket.  Best  clothes  and  common 
clothes,  thick  clothes  and  thin  clothes,  flannels  and  linens, 
socks  and  collars,  with  handkerchiefs  enough  to  keep  the 
pickpockets  busy  for  a  week,  with  a  paper  of  gingerbread 
and  some  lozenges  for  gastralgia,  and  "  hot  drops,"  and 
ruled  paper  to  write  letters  on,  and  a  little  Bible,  and  a 
phial  with  hiera  picra,  and  another  with  paregoric,  and 
another  with  "  camphire  "  for  sprains  and  bruises,  —  Gifted 
went  forth  equipped  for  every  climate  from  the  tropic  to 
the  pole,  and  armed  against  every  malady  from  Ague  to 
Zoster.  He  carried  also  the  paternal  watch,  a  solid  silver 
bull's-eye,  and  a  large  pocket-book,  tied  round  with  a  long 
tape,  and,  by  way  of  precaution,  pinned  into  his  breast 
pocket.  He  talked  about  having  a  pistol,  in  case  he  were 
attacked  by  any  of  the  ruffians  who  are  so  numerous  in 
1,1  s 


290  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  city,  but  Mr.  Gridley  told  him,  No !  he  would  certainly 
shoot  himself,  aud  he  should  n't  think  of  letting  him  take 
a  pistol. 

They  went  forth,  Mentor  and  Telemachus,  at  the  ap 
pointed  time,  to  dare  the  perils  of  the  railroad  and  the 
snares  of  the  city.  Mrs.  Hopkins  was  firm  up  to  near  the 
last  moment,  when  a  little  quiver  in  her  voice  set  her  eyes 
off,  and  her  face  broke  up  all  at  once,  so  that  she  had  to 
hide  it  behind  her  handkerchief.  Susan  Posey  showed  the 
truthfulness  of  her  character  in  her  words  to  Gifted  at 
parting.  "  Farewell,"  she  said,  "  and  think  of  me  some 
times  while  absent.  My  heart  is  another's,  but  my  friend 
ship,  Gifted  —  my  friendship  —  " 

Both  were  deeply  affected.  He  took  her  hand  and 
would  have  raised  it  to  his  lips ;  but  she  did  not  forget  her 
self,  and  gently  withdrew  it,  exclaiming,  "  O  Gifted  !  "  this 
time  with  a  tone  of  tender  reproach  which  made  him  feel 
like  a  profligate.  He  tore  himself  away,  and  when  at  a 
safe  distance  flung  her  a  kiss,  which  she  rewarded  with  a 
tearful  smile. 

Master  Byles  Gridley  must  have  had  some  good  divi 
dends  from  some  of  his  property  of  late.  There  is  no 
other  way  of  accounting  for  the  handsome  style  in  which 
he  did  things  on  their  arrival  in  the  city.  He  went  to  a 
tailor's  and  ordered  a  new  suit  to  be  sent  home  as  soon  as 
possible,  for  he  knew  his  wardrobe  was  a  little  rusty.  He 
looked  Gifted  over  from  head  to  foot,  and  suggested  such 
improvements  as  would  recommend  him  to  the  fastidious 
eyes  of  the  selector  sort  of  people,  and  put  him  in  his  own 
tailor's  hands,  at  the  same  time  saying  that  all  bills  were 
to  be  sent  to  him,  B.  Gridley,  Esq.,  parlor  No.  6,  at  the 
Planet  House.  Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  in  three  days 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  291 

from  their  arrival  they  were  both  in  an  eminently  present 
able  condition.  In  the  mean  time  the  prudent  Mr.  Grid- 
ley  had  been  keeping  the  young  man  busy,  and  amusing 
himself  by  showing  him  such  of  the  sights  of  the  city  and 
its  suburbs  as  he  thought  would  combine  instruction  with 
entertainment. 

When  they  were  both  properly  equipped  and  ready  for 
the  best  company,  Mr.  Gridley  said  to  the  young  poet,  who 
had  found  it  very  hard  to  contain  his  impatience,  that  they 
would  now  call  together  on  the  publisher  to  whom  he 
wished  to  introduce  him,  and  they  set  out  accordingly. 

"  My  name  is  Gridley,"  he  said  with  modest  gravity,  as 
he  entered  the  publisher's  private  room.  "  I  have  a  note 
of  introduction  here  from  one  of  your  authors,  as  I  think 
he  called  himself,  —  a  very  popular  writer  for  whom  you 
publish." 

The  publisher  rose  and  came  forward  in  the  mo>t  cor 
dial  and  respectful  manner.  "  Mr.  Gridley  ?  —  Profes 
sor  Byles  Gridley,  —  author  of  *  Thoughts  on  the  Uni 
verse'?" 

The  brave-hearted  old  man  colored  as  if  he  had  been 
a  young  girl.  His  dead  book  rose  before  him  like  an  ap 
parition.  He  groped  in  modest  confusion  for  an  answer. 
"  A  child  I  buried  long  ago,  my  dear  sir,"  he  said.  "  Its 
title-page  was  its  tombstone.  I  have  brought  this  young 
friend  with  me,  —  this  is  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins  of  Oxbow 
Village,  —  who  wishes  to  converse  with  you  about  —  " 

"  I  have  come,  sir  —  "  the  young  poet  began,  interrupt 
ing  him. 

"  Let  me  look  at  your  manuscript,  if  you  please,  Mr. 
Popkins,"  said  the  publisher,  interrupting  in  his  turn. 

"  Hopkins,  if  you  please,  sir,"  Gifted  suggested  mildly, 


292  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

proceeding  to  extract  the  manuscript,  which  had  got 
wedged  into  his  pocket,  and  seemed  to  be  holding  on  with 
all  its  might.  He  was  wondering  all  the  time  over  the 
extraordinary  clairvoyance  of  the  publisher,  who  had 
looked  through  so  many  thick  folds,  broadcloth,  lining, 
brown  paper,  and  seen  his  poems  lying  hidden  in  his 
breast-pocket.  The  idea  that  a  young  person  coming  on 
such  an  errand  should  have  to  explain  his  intentions  would 
have  seemed  very  odd  to  the  publisher.  He  knew  the 
look  which  belongs  to  this  class  of  enthusiasts  just  as  a 
horse-dealer  knows  the  look  of  a  green  purchaser  with  the 
equine  fever  raging  in  his  veins.  If  a  young  author  had 
come  to  him  with  a  scrap  of  manuscript  hidden  in  his 
boots,  like  Major  Andre's  papers,  the  publisher  would 
have  taken  one  glance  at  him  and  said,  "  Out  with  it !  " 

While  he  was  battling  for  the  refractory  scroll  with  his 
pocket,  which  turned  half  wrong  side  out,  and  acted  as 
things  always  do  when  people  are  nervous  and  in  a  hurry, 
the  publisher  directed  his  conversation  again  to  Master 
Byles  Gridley. 

"  A  remarkable  book,  that  of  yours,  Mr.  Gridley,  — 
would  have  a  great  run  if  it  were  well  handled.  Came 
out  twenty  years  too  soon,  —  that  was  the  trouble.  One 
of  our  leading  scholars  was  speaking  of  it  to  me  the  other 
day.  '  We  must  have  a  new  edition,'  he  said ;  '  people  are 
just  ripe  for  that  book.'  Did  you  ever  think  of  that  ? 
Change  the  form  of  it  a  little,  and  give  it  a  new  title,  and 
it  will  be  a  popular  book.  Five  thousand  or  more,  very 
likely." 

Mr.  Gridley  felt  as  if  he  had  been  rapidly  struck  on  the 
forehead  with  a  dozen  distinct  blows  from  a  hammer  not 
quite  big  enough  to  stun  him.  He  sat  still  without  saying 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  293 

a  word.  He  had  forgotten  for  the  moment  all  about  poor 
Gifted  Hopkins,  who  had  got  out  his  manuscript  at  last, 
and  was  calming  the  disturbed  corners  of  it.  Coming  to 
himself  a  little,  he  took  a  large  and  beautiful  silk  handker 
chief,  one  of  his  new  purchases,  from  his  pocket,  and  ap 
plied  it  to  his  face,  for  the  weather  seemed  to  have  grown 
very  warm  all  at  once.  Then  he  remembered  the  errand 
on  which  he  had  come,  and  thought  of  this  youth,  who  had 
got  to  receive  his  first  hard  lesson  in  life,  and  whom  he 
had  brought  to  this  kind  man  that  it  should  be  gently  ad 
ministered. 

"  You  surprise  me,"  he  said,  — "  you  surprise  me. 
Dead  and  buried.  Dead  and  buried.  I  had  sometimes 
thought  that  —  at  some  future  period,  after  I  was  gone,  it 
might  —  but  I  hardly  know  what  to  say  about  your  sug 
gestions.  But  here  is  my  young  friend,  Mr.  Hopkins, 
who  would  like  to  talk  with  you,  and  I  will  leave  him  in 
your  hands.  I  am  at  the  Planet  House,  if  you  should 
care  to  call  upon  me.  Good  morning.  Mr.  Hopkins  will 
explain  everything  to  you  more  at  his  ease,  without  me,  I 
am  confident." 

Master  Gridley  could  not  quite  make  up  his  mind  to 
stay  through  the  interview  between  the  young  poet  and 
the  publisher.  The  flush  of  hope  was  bright  in  Gifted's 
eye  and  cheek,  and  the  good  man  knew  that  young  hearts 
are  apt  to  be  over-sanguine,  and  that  one  who  enters  a 
shower-bath  often  feels  very  differently  from  the  same  per 
son  when  he  has  pulled  the  string. 

"  I  have  brought  you  my  Poems  in  the  original  auto 
graphs,  sir,"  said  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins. 

He  laid  the  manuscript  on  the  table,  caressing  the 
leaves  still  with  one  hand,  as  loath  to  let  it  go. 


294  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  What  disposition  had  you  thought  of  making  of  them  ?  " 
the  publisher  asked,  in  a  pleasant  tone.  He  was  as  kind 
a  man  as  lived,  though  he  worked  the  chief  engine  in  a 
chamber  of  torture. 

"  I  wish  to  read  you  a  few  specimens  of  the  poems,"  he 
said,  "  with  reference  to  their  proposed  publication  in  a 
volume." 

"  By  all  means,"  said  the  kind  publisher,  who  deter 
mined  to  be  very  patient  with  the  protege  of  the  hitherto 
little-known,  but  remarkable  writer,  Professor  Gridley. 
At  the  same  time  he  extended  his  foot  in  an  accidental  sort 
of  way,  and  pressed  it  on  the  right-hand  knob  of  three 
which  were  arranged  in  a  line  beneath  the  table.  A  little 
bell  in  a  distant  apartment  —  the  little  bell  marked  C  — 
gave  one  slight  note,  loud  enough  to  start  a  small  boy  up, 
who  looked  at  the  clock,  and  knew  that  he  was  to  go  and 
call  the  publisher  in  just  twenty-live  minutes.  "  A,  five 
minutes  ;  B,  ten  minutes  ;  C,  twenty -five  minutes  "  ;  — 
that  was  the  youngster's  working  formula.  Mr.  Hopkins 
was  treated  to  the  full  allowance  of  time,  as  being  intro 
duced  by  Professor  Gridley. 

The  young  man  laid  open  the  manuscript  so  that  the 
title-page,  written  out  very  handsomely  in  his  own  hand, 
should  win  the  eye  of  the  publisher. 

BLOSSOMS    OF    THE    SOUL. 
A  WREATH  OP  VERSE  ;    Original. 
BY  GIFTED  HOPKINS. 

"A  youth  to  Fortune  and  to  Fame  unknown." 

Gray. 

"  Shall  I  read  you  some  of  the  rhymed  pieces  first,  or 
some  of  the  blank- verse  poems,  sir  ?  "  Gifted  asked. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  295 

"Read  what  you  think  is  best, — a  specimen  of  your 
first-class  style  of  composition." 

"  I  will  read  you  the  very  last  poem  I  have  written,"  he 
said,  and  he  began  :  — • 

"THE  TRIUMPH  OF  SONG. 
"  I  met  that  gold-haired  maiden,  all  too  dear ; 
And  1  to  her  :  Lo !  thou  art  very  fair, 
Fairer  than  all  the  ladies  in  the  world 
That  fan  the  sweetened  air  with  scented  fans, 
And  I  am  scorched  with  exceeding  love, 
Yea,  crisped  till  my  bones  are  dry  as  straw. 
Look  not  away  with  that  high-arched  brow, 
But  turn  its  whiteness  that  I  may  behold, 
And  lift  thy  great  eyes  till  they  blaze  on  mine, 
And  lay  thy  finger  on  thy  perfect  mouth, 
And  let  thy  lucent  ears  of  carven  pearl 
Drink  in  the  murmured  music  of  my  soul, 
As  the  lush  grass  drinks  in  the  globed  dew ; 
For  I  have  many  scrolls  of  sweetest  rhyme 
I  will  unroll  and  make  thee  glad  to  hear. 

"  Then  she  :  O  shaper  of  the  marvellous  phrase 
That  openeth  woman's  heart  as  doth  a  key, 
I  dare  not  hear  thee  —  lest  the  bolt  should  slide 
That  locks  another's  heart  within  my  own. 
Go,  leave  me,  —  and  she  let  her  eyelids  fall 
And  the  great  tears  rolled  from  her  large  blue  eyes. 

"  Then  I :  If  thou  not  hear  me,  I  shall  die, 
Yea,  in  my  desperate  mood  may  lift  my  hand 
And  do  myself  a  hurt  no  leech  can  mend  ; 
For  poets  ever  were  of  dark  resolve, 
And  swift  stern  deed  — 

That  maiden  heard  no  more, 
But  spake :  Alas  !  my  heart  is  very  weak, 
And  but  for  —  Stay  !     And  if  some  dreadful  morn, 
After  great  search  and  shouting  thorough  the  wold, 
We  found  thee  missing,  —  strangled,  —  drowned  i'  the  mere,  — 
Then  should  I  go  distraught  and  be  clean  mad  ! 


296  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

0  poet,  read  !  read  all  thy  wondrous  scroll ! 
Yea,  read  the  verse  that  maketh  glad  to  hear  ! 
Then  I  began  and  read  two  sweet,  brief  hours, 
And  she  forgot  all  love  save  only  mine  ! " 

"Is  all  this  from  real  life  ?  "  asked  the  publisher. 

"  It  —  no,  sir  —  not  exactly  from  real  life  —  that  is, 
the  leading  female  person  is  not  wholly  fictitious  —  and 
the  incident  is  one  which  might  have  happened.  Shall  I 
read  you  the  poems  referred  to  in  the  one  you  have  just 
heard,  sir  ?  " 

"  Allow  me,  one  moment.  Two  hours'  reading,  I  think, 
you  said.  I  fear  I  shall  hardly  be  able  to  spare  quite  time 
to  hear  them  all.  Let  me  ask  what  you  intend  doing  with 
these  productions,  Mr. rr  —  Popkins." 

"  Hopkins,  if  you  please,  sir,  not  Popkins,"  said  Gifted, 
plaintively.  He  expressed  his  willingness  to  dispose  of 
the  copyright,  to  publish  on. shares,  or  perhaps  to  receive  a 
certain  percentage  on  the  profits. 

"  Suppose  we  take  a  glass  of  wine  together,  Mr. 

Hopkins,  before  we  talk  business,"  the  publisher  said,  open 
ing  a  little  cupboard  and  taking  therefrom  a  decanter  and 
two  glasses.  He  saw  the  young  man  was  looking  nervous. 
He  waited  a  few  minutes,  until  the  wine  had  comforted 
his  epigastrium,  and  diffused  its  gentle  glow  through  his 
unspoiled  and  consequently  susceptible  organization. 

"  Come  with  me,"  he  said. 

Gifted  followed  him  into  a  dingy  apartment  in  the  attic, 
where  one  sat  at  a  great  table  heaped  and  piled  with 
manuscripts.  By  him  was  a  huge  basket,  half  full  of 
manuscripts  also.  As  they  entered  he  dropped  another 
manuscript  into  the  basket  and  looked  up. 

"  Tell  me,"  said  Gifted,  "  what  are  these  papers,  and 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  297 

who  is  he  that  looks  upon  them  and  drops  them  into  the 
basket?" 

"  These  are  the  manuscript  poems  that  we  receive,  and 
the  one  sitting  at  the  table  is  commonly  spoken  of  among 
us  as  The  Butcher.  The  poems  he  drops  into  the  basket 
are  those  rejected  as  of  no  account." 

"  But  does  he  not  read  the  poems  before  he  rejects  them?" 

"  He  tastes  them.  Do  you  eat  a  cheese  before  you  buy 
it?" 

"  And  what  becomes  of  all  those  that  he  drops  into  the 
basket?" 

If  they  are  not  claimed  by  their  author  in  proper  season, 
they  go  to  the  devil." 

"What!"  said  Gifted,  with  his  eyes  stretched  very  round. 

"  To  the  paper  factory,  where  they  have  a  horrid  ma 
chine  they  call  the  devil,  that  tears  everything  to  bits,  — 
as  the  critics  treat  our  authors,  sometimes,  —  sometimes, 
Mr.  Hopkins." 

Gifted  devoted  a  moment  to  silent  reflection. 

After  this  instructive  sight  they  returned  together  to  the 
publisher's  private  room.  The  wine  had  now  warmed  the 
youthful  poet's  praecordia,  so  that  he  began  to  feel  a  re 
newed  confidence  in  his  genius  and  his  fortunes. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  what  that  critic  of  yours  would 
say  to  my  manuscript,"  he  said  boldly. 

"  You  can  try  it  if  you  want  to,"  the  publisher  replied, 
with  an  ominous  dryness  of  manner  which  the  sanguine 
youth  did  not  perceive,  or,  perceiving,  did  not  heed. 

"  How  can  we  manage  to  get  an  impartial  judgment?" 

"  O,  I  '11  arrange  that.  He  always  goes  to  his  luncheon 
about  this  time.  Raw  meat  and  vitriol  punch,  —  that  's 
what  the  authors  say.  Wait  till  we  hear  him  go,  and 
13* 


298  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

then  I  will  lay  your  manuscript  so  that  he  will  come 
to  it  among  the  first  after  he  gets  back.  You  shall  see 
with  your  own  eyes  what  treatment  it  gets.  I  hope  it  may 
please  him,  but  you  shall  see." 

They  went  back  to  the  publisher's  private  room  and 
talked  awhile.  Then  the  little  office-boy  came  up  with 
some  vague  message  about  a  gentleman  —  business  — 
wants  to  see  you,  sir,  etc.,  according  to  the  established 
programme  ;  all  in  a  vacant,  mechanical  sort  of  way,  as 
if  he  were  a  talking-machine  just  running  down. 

The  publisher  told  the  boy  that  he  was  engaged,  and 
the  gentleman  must  wait.  Very  soon  they  heard  The 
Butcher's  heavy  footstep  as  he  went  out  to  get  his  raw 
meat  and  vitriol  punch. 

"Now,  then,"  said  the  publisher,  and -led  forth  the  con 
fiding  literary  lamb  once  more,  to  enter  the  fatal  door  of 
the  critical  shambles. 

"  Hand  me  your  manuscript,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Hop 
kins.  I  will  lay  it  so  that  it  shall  be  the  third  of  these 
that  are  coming  to  hand.  Our  friend  here  is  a  pretty  good 
judge  of  verse,  and  knows  a  merchantable  article  about  as 
quick  as  any  man  in  his  line  of  business.  If  he  forms 
a  favorable  opinion  of  your  poems,  we  will  talk  over  your 
propositions." 

Gifted  was  conscious  of  a  very  slight  tremor  as  he  saw 
his  precious  manuscript  deposited  on  the  table,  under  two 
others,  and  over  a  pile  of  similar  productions.  Still  he 
could  not  help  feeling  that  the  critic  would  be  struck  by 
his  title.  The  quotation  from  Gray  must  touch  his  feel 
ings.  The  very  first  piece  in  the  collection  could  not  fail 
to  arrest  him.  He  looked  a  little  excited,  but  he  was  in 
good  spirits. 


THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  299 

"  We  will  be  looking  about  here  when  our  friend  comes 
back,"  the  publisher  said.  "  He  is  a  very  methodical  per 
son,  and  will  sit  down  and  go  right  to  work  just  as  if  we 
were  not  here.  We  can  watch  him,  and  if  he  should  ex 
press  any  particular  interest  in  your  poems,  I  will,  if  you 
say  so,  carry  you  up  to  him  and  reveal  the  fact  that  you 
are  the  author  of  the  works  that  please  him." 

They  waited  patiently  until  The  Butcher  returned,  ap 
parently  refreshed  by  his  ferocious  refection,  and  sat  down 
at  his  table.  He  looked  comforted,  and  not  in  ill  humor. 
The  publisher  and  the  poet  talked  in  low  tones,  as  if  on 
business  of  their  own,  and  watched  him  as  he  returned  to 
his  labor. 

The  Butcher  took  the  first  manuscript  that  came  to  hand, 
read  a  stanza  here  and  there,  turned  over  the  leaves,  turned 
back  and  tried  again,  —  shook  his  head  —  held  it  for  an 
instant  over  the  basket,  as  if  doubtful,  —  and  let  it  softly 
drop.  He  took  up  the  second  manuscript,  opened  it  in 
several  places,  seemed  rather  pleased  with  what  he  read, 
and  laid  it  aside  for  further  examination. 

He  took  up  the  third.  "  Blossoms  of  the  Soul,"  etc. 
He  glared  at  it  in  a  dreadfully  ogreish  way.  Both  the 
lookers-on  held  their  breath.  Gifted  Hopkins  felt  as  if 
half  a  glass  more  of  that  warm  sherry  would  not  hurt  him. 
There  was  a  sinking  at  the  pit  of  his  stomach,  as  if  he  was 
in  a  swing,  as  high  as  he  could  go,  close  up  to  the  swallows' 
nests  and  spiders'  webs.  The  Butcher  opened  the  manu 
script  at  random,  read  ten  seconds,  and  gave  a  short  low 
grunt.  He  opened  again,  read  ten  seconds,  and  gave 
another  grunt,  this  time  a  little  longer  and  louder.  He 
opened  once  more,  read  five  seconds,  and,  with  something 
that  sounded  like  the  snort  of  a  dangerous  animal,  cast  it 


300  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

impatiently  into  the  basket,  and  took  up  the  manuscript 
that  came  next  in  order. 

Gifted  Hopkins  stood  as  if  paralyzed  for  a  moment. 

"  Safe,  perfectly  safe,"  the  publisher  said  to  him  in  a 
whisper.  "  I  '11  get  it  for  you  presently.  Come  in  and 
take  another  glass  of  wine,"  he  said,  leading  him  back  to 
his  own  office. 

"  No,  I  thank  you,"  he  said  faintly,  "  I  can  bear  it. 
But  this  is  dreadful,  sir*  Is  this  the  way  that  genius  is 
welcomed  to  the  world  of  letters  ?  " 

The  publisher  explained  to  him,  in  the  kindest  manner, 
that  there  was  an  enormous  over-production  of  verse,  and 
that  it  took  a  great  part  of  one  man's  time  simply  to  over 
haul  the  cart-loads  of  it  that  were  trying  to  get  themselves 
into  print  with  the  imprimatur  of  his  famous  house.  "You 
are  young,  Mr.  Hopkins.  I  advise  you  not  to  try  to  force 
your  article  of  poetry  on  the  market.  The  B — ,  our 
friend,  there,  that  is,  knows  a  thing  that  will  sell  as  soon  as 
he  sees  it.  You  are  in  independent  circumstances,  per 
haps  ?  If  so,  you  can  print  —  at  your  own  expense  — 
whatever  you  choose.  May  I  take  the  liberty  to  ask  your 
—  profession  ?  " 

Gifted  explained  that  he  was  "  clerk "  in  a  "  store," 
where  they  sold  dry  goods  and  West  India  goods,  and  goods 
promiscuous. 

"  O,  well,  then,"  the  publisher  said,  "  you  will  understand 
me.  Do  you  know  a  good  article  of  brown  sugar  when 
you  see  it  ?  " 

Gifted  Hopkins  rather  thought  he  did.  He  knew  at 
sight  whether  it  was  a  fair,  salable  article  or  not. 

"  Just  so.  Now  our  friend,  there,  knows  verses  that  are 
salable  and  unsalable  as  well  as  you  do  brown  sugar.  — 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  301 

Keep  quiet  now,  and  I  will  go  and  get  your  manuscript 
for  you. 

"  There,  Mr.  Hopkins,  take  your  poems,  —  they  will 
give  you  a  reputation  in  your  village,  I  don't  doubt,  which 
is  pleasant,  but  it  will  cost  you  a  good  deal  of  money  to 
print  them  in  a  volume.  You  are  very  young :  you  can 
afford  to  wait.  Your  genius  is  not  ripe  yet,  I  am  confi 
dent,  Mr.  Hopkins.  These  verses  are  very  well  for  a 
beginning,  but  a  man  of  promise  like  you,  Mr.  Hopkins, 
must  n't  throw  away  his  chance  by  premature  publica 
tion  !  I  should  like  to  make  you  a  present  of  a  few  of 
the  books  we  publish.  By  and  by,  perhaps,  we  can  work 
you  into  our  series  of  poets  ;  but  the  best  pears  ripen 
slowly,  and  so  with  genius.  —  Where  shall  I  send  the 
volumes  ?  " 

Gifted  answered,  to  parlor  number  No.  6,  Planet  Hotel, 
where  he  soon  presented  himself  to  Master  Gridley,  who 
could  guess  pretty  well  what  was  coming.  But  he  let  him 
tell  his  story. 

"  Shall  I  try  the  other  publishers  ?  "  said  the  disconsolate 
youth. 

"  I  would  n't,  rny  young  friend,  I  would  n't.  You  have 
seen  the  best  one  of  them  all.  He  is  right  about  it,  quite 
right :  you  are  young,  and  had  better  wait.  Look  here, 
Gifted,  here  is  something  to  please  you.  We  are  going 
to  visit  the  gay  world  together.  See  what  has  been  left 
here  this  forenoon." 

He  showed  him  two  elegant  notes  of  invitation  request 
ing  the  pleasure  of  Professor  Byles  Gridley 's  and  of  Mr. 
Gifted  Hopkins's  company  on  Thursday  evening,  as  the 
guests  of  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum,  of  24  Carat  Place. 


302  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MRS.    CLYMER    KETCHUM'S    PARTY. 

MYRTLE  HAZARD  had  flowered  out  as  beyond 
question  the  handsomest  girl  of  the  season.  There 
were  hints  from  different  quarters  that  she  might  possibly 
be  an  heiress.  Vague  stories  were  about  of  some  contin 
gency  which  might  possibly  throw  a  fortune  into  her  lap. 
The  young  men  about  town  talked  of  her  at  the  clubs  in 
their  free-and-easy  way,  but  all  agreed  that  she  was  the 
girl  of  the  new  crop,  —  "  best  filly  this  grass,"  as  Livingston 
Jenkins  put  it.  The  general  understanding  seemed  to  be 
that  the  young  lawyer  who  had  followed  her  to  the  city 
was  going  to  capture  her.  She  seemed  to  favor  him 
certainly  as  much  as  anybody.  But  Myrtle  saw  many 
young  men  now,  and  it  was  not  so  easy  as  it  would  once 
have  been  to  make  out  who  was  an  especial  favorite. 

There  had  been  times  when  Murray  Bradshaw  would 
have  offered  his  heart  and  hand  to  Myrtle  at  once,  if  he 
had  felt  sure  that  she  would  accept  him.  But  he  preferred 
playing  the  safe  game  now,  and  only  wanted  to  feel  sure 
of  her.  He  had  done  his  best  to  be  agreeable,  and  could 
hardly  doubt  that  he  had  made  an  impression.  He  dressed 
well  when  in  the  city,  —  even  elegantly,  —  he  had  many 
of  the  lesser  social  accomplishments,  was  a  good  dancer, 
and  compared  favorably  in  all  such  matters  with  the  more 
dashing  young  fellows  in  society.  He  was  a  better  talker 
than  most  of  them,  and  he  knew  more  about  the  girl  he 
was  dealing  with  than  they  could  know.  "  You  have  only 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  303 

got  to  say  the  word,  Murray,"  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchura 
said  to  her  relative,  "  and  you  can  have  her.  But  don't  be 
rash.  I  believe  you  can  get  Berengaria  if  you  try  ;  and 
there  's  something  better  there  than  possibilities."  Murray 
Bradshaw  laughed,  and  told  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  not  to 
worry  about  him ;  he  knew  what  he  was  doing. 

It  so  happened  that  Myrtle  met  Master  Byles  Gridley 
walking  with  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins  the  day  before  the 
party.  She  longed  to  have  a  talk  with  her  old  friend,  and 
was  glad  to  have  a  chance  of  pleasing  her  poetical  admirer. 
She  therefore  begged  her  hostess  to  invite  them  both  to  her 
party  to  please  her,  which  she  promised  to  do  at  once. 
Thus  the  two  elegant  notes  were  accounted  for. 

Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum,  though  her  acquaintances  were 
chiefly  in  the  world  of  fortune  and  of  fashion,  had  yet 
a  certain  weakness  for  what  she  called  clever  people.  She 
therefore  always  variegated  her  parties  with  a  streak  of 
young  artists  and  writers,  and  a  literary  lady  or  two ;  and, 
if  she  could  lay  hands  on  a  first-class  celebrity,  was  as 
happy  as  an  Amazon  who  had  captured  a  Centaur. 

"  There 's  a  demonish  clever  young  fellow  by  the  name 
of  Lindsay,"  Mr.  Livingston  Jenkins  said  to  her  a  little 
before  the  day  of  the  party.  "  Better  ask  him.  They  say 
he  's  the  rising  talent  in  his  line,  architecture  mainly,  but 
has  done  some  remarkable  things  in  the  way  of  sculpture. 
There  's  some  story  about  a  bust  he  made  that  was  quite 
wonderful.  I  '11  find  his  address  for  you."  So  Mr.  Clem 
ent  Lindsay  got  his  invitation,  and  thus  Mrs.  Clymer 
Ketchum's  party  promised  to  bring  together  a  number  of 
persons  with  whom  we  are  acquainted,  and  who  were  ac 
quainted  with  each  other. 

Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  knew  how  to  give  a  party.     Let 


304  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

her  only  have  carte  blanche  for  flowers,  music,  and  cham 
pagne,  she  used  to  tell  her  lord,  and  she  would  see  to  the 
rest,  —  lighting  the  rooms,  tables,  and  toilet.  He  need  n't 
be  afraid :  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  keep  out  of  the  way* 

Subdivision  of  labor  is  one  of  the  triumphs  of  modern 
civilization.  Labor  was  beautifully  subdivided  in  this 
lady's  household.  It  was  old  Ketchum's  business  to  make 
money,  and  he  understood  it.  It  was  Mrs.  K.'s  business 
to  spend  money,  and  she  knew  how  to  do  it.  The  rooms 
blazed  with  light  like  a  conflagration ;  the  flowers  burned 
like  lamps  of  many-colored  flame  ;  the  music  throbbed  into 
the  hearts  of  the  promenaders  and  tingled  through  all  the 
muscles  of  the  dancers. 

Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum  was  in  her  glory.  Her  point  cT 
Alenqon  must  have  spoiled  ever  so  many  French  girls' 
eyes.  Her  bosom  heaved  beneath  a  kind  of  breastplate 
glittering  with  a  heavy  dew  of  diamonds.  She  glistened 
and  sparkled  with  every  movement,  so  that  the  admirer 
forgot  to  question  too  closely  whether  the  eyes  matched  the 
brilliants,  or  the  cheeks  glowed  like  the  roses.  Not  far 
from  the  great  lady  stood  Myrtle  Hazard.  She  was 
dressed  as  the  fashion  of  the  day  demanded,  but  she  had 
added  certain  audacious  touches  of  her  own,  reminiscences 
of  the  time  when  the  dead  beauty  had  flourished,  and 
which  first  provoked  the  question  and  then  the  admiration 
of  the  young  people  who  had  a  natural  eye  for  effect.  Over 
the  long  white  glove  on  her  left  arm  was  clasped  a  rich 
bracelet,  of  so  quaint  an  antique  pattern  that  nobody  had 
seen  anything  like  it,  and  as  some  one  whispered  that  it 
was  "  the  last  thing  out,"  it  was  greatly  admired  by  the 
fashion-plate  multitude,  as  well  as  by  the  few  who  had 
a  taste  of  their  own.  If  the  soul  of  Judith  Pride,  long 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  305 

divorced  from  its  once  beautifully  moulded  dust,  ever  lived 
in  dim  consciousness  through  any  of  those  who  inherited 
her  blood,  it  was  then  and  there  that  she  breathed  through 
the  lips  of  Myrtle  Hazard.  The  young  girl  almost  trem 
bled  with  the  ecstasy  of  this  new  mode  of  being,  soliciting 
every  sense  with  light,  with  perfume,  with  melody,  —  all 
that  could  make  her  feel  the  wonderful  complex  music  of 
a  fresh  life  when  all  its  chords  first  vibrate  together  in  har 
mony.  Miss  Rhadamantha  Pinnikle,  whose  mother  was 
an  Apex  (of  whose  race  it  was  said  that  they  always  made 
an  obeisance  when  the  family  name  was  mentioned,  and 
had  all  their  portraits  painted  with  halos  round  their  heads), 
found  herself  extinguished  in  this  new  radiance.  Miss 
Victoria  Capsheaf  stuck  to  the  wall  as  if  she  had  been 
a  fresco  on  it.  The  fifty-year-old  dynasties  were  dismayed 
and  dismounted.  Myrtle  fossilized  them  as  suddenly  as  if 
she  had  been  a  Gorgon,  instead  of  a  beauty. 

The  guests  in  whom  we  may  have  some  interest  were  in 
the  mean  time  making  ready  for  the  party,  which  was  ex 
pected  to  be  a  brilliant  one  ;  for  24  Carat  Place  was  well 
known  for  the  handsome  style  of  its  entertainments. 

Clement  Lindsay  was  a  little  surprised  by  his  invitation. 
He  had,  however,  been  made  a  lion  of  several  times  of 
late,  and  was  very  willing  to  amuse  himself  once  in  a 
while  with  a  peep  into  the  great  world.  It  was  but  an 
empty  show  to  him  at  best,  for  his  lot  was  cast,  and  he 
expected  to  lead  a  quiet  domestic  life  after  his  student  clays 
were  over. 

Master  Byles  Gridley  had  known  what  society  was  in 
his  earlier  time,  and  understood  very  well  that  all  a  gen 
tleman  of  his  age  had  to  do  was  to  dress  himself  in  his 
usual  plain  way,  only  taking  a  little  more  care  in  his  ar- 

T 


306  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

rangements  than  was  needed  in  the  latitude  of  Oxbow  Vil 
lage.  But  Gifted  must  be  looked  after,  that  he  should  not 
provoke  the  unamiable  comments  of  the  city  youth  by  any 
defect  or  extravagance  of  costume.  The  young  gentleman 
had  bought  a  light  sky-blue  neckerchief,  and  a  very  large 
breast-pin  containing  a  gem  which  he  was  assured  by  the 
vendor  was  a  genuine  stone.  He  considered  that  both 
these  would  be  eminently  effective  articles  of  dress,  and 
Mr.  Gridley  had  some  trouble  to  convince  him  that  a 
white  tie  and  plain  shirt-buttons  would  be  more  fitted  to 
the  occasion. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the  great  party  Mr.  Wil 
liam  Murray  Bradshaw  received  a  brief  telegram,  which 
seemed  to  cause  him  great  emotion,  as  he  changed  color, 
uttered  a  forcible  exclamation,  and  began  walking  up  and 
down  his  room  in  a  very  nervous  kind  of  way.  It  was  a 
foreshadowing  of  a  certain  event  now  pretty  sure  to  happen. 
Whatever  bearing  this  telegram  may  have  had  upon  his 
plans,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  contrive  an  op 
portunity  somehow  that  very  evening  to  propose  himself 
as  a  suitor  to  Myrtle  Hazard.  He  could  not  say  that  he 
felt  as  absolutely  certain  of  getting  the  right  answer  as  he 
had  felt  at  some  previous  periods.  Myrtle  knew  her  price, 
he  said  to  himself,  a  great  deal  better  than  when  she  was  a 
simple  country  girl.  The  flatteries  with  which  she  had 
been  surrounded,  and  the  effect  of  all  the  new  appliances 
of  beauty,  which  had  set  her  off  so  that  she  could  not  help 
seeing  her  own  attractions,  rendered  her  harder  to  please 
and  to  satisfy.  A  little  experience  in  society  teaches  a 
young  girl  the  arts  and  the  phrases  which  all  the  Lotharios 
have  in  common.  Murray  Bradshaw  was  ready  to  land 
his  fish  now,  but  he  was  not  quite  sure  that  she  was  yet 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  307 

hooked,  and  he  had  a  feeling  that  by  this  time  she  knew 
every  fly  in  his  book.  However,  as  he  had  mn.de  up  his 
mind  not  to  wait  another  day,  he  addressed  himself  to  the 
trial  before  him  with  a  determination  to  succeed,  if  any 
means  at  his  command  would  insure  success.  He  arrayed 
himself  with  faultless  elegance :  nothing  must  be  neglected 
on  such  an  occasion.  He  went  forth  firm  and  grave  as  a 
general  going  into  a  battle  where  all  is  to  be  lost  or  won. 
He  entered  the  blazing  saloon  with  the  unfailing  smile 
upon  his  lips,  to  which  .he  set  them  as  he  set  his  watch  to 
a  particular  hour  and  minute. 

The  rooms  were  pretty  well  filled  when  he  arrived  and 
made  his  bow  before  the  blazing,  rustling,  glistening,  wav 
ing,  blushing  appearance  under  which  palpitated,  with  the 
pleasing  excitement  of  the  magic  scene  over  which  its 
owner  presided,  the  heart  of  Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum.  He 
turned  to  Myrtle  Hazard,  and  if  he  had  ever  doubted 
which  way  his  inclinations  led  him,  he  could  doubt  no 
longer.  How  much  dress  and  how  much  light  can  a  wo 
man  bear?  That  is  the  way  to  measure  her  beauty.  A 
plain  girl  in  a  simple  dress,  if  she  has  only  a  pleasant 
voice,  may  seem  almost  a  beauty  in  the  rosy  twilight. 
The  nearer  she  comes  to  being  handsome,  the  more  orna 
ment  she  will  bear,  and  the  more  she  may  defy  the  sun 
shine  or  the  chandelier.  Murray  Bradshaw  was  fairly  daz 
zled  with  the  brilliant  effect  of  Myrtle  in  full  dress.  He 
did  not  know  before  what  handsome  arms  she  had,  —  Ju 
dith  Pride's  famous  arms,  —  which  the  high-colored  young 
men  in  top-boots  used  to  swear  were  the  handsomest  pair 
in  New  England,  —  right  over  again.  He  did  not  know 
before  with  what  defiant  effect  she  would  light  up,  standing 
as  she  did  directly  under  a  huge  lustre,  in  full  flower  of 


308  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

flame,  like  a  burning  azalea.  He  was  not  a  man  who  in 
tended  to  let  his  sentiments  carry  him  away  from  the 
serious  interests  of  his  future,  yet,  as  he  looked  upon  Myr 
tle  Hazard,  his  heart  gave  one  throb  which  made  him  feel 
in  every  pulse  that  this  was  a  woman  who  in  her  own 
right,  simply  as  a  woman,  could  challenge  the  homage  of 
the  proudest  young  man  of  her  time.  He  hardly  knew 
till  this  moment  how  much  of  passion  mingled  with  other 
and  calmer  motives  of  admiration.  He  could  say  1  love 
you  as  truly  as  such  a  man  could  ever  speak  these  words, 
meaning  that  he  admired  her,  that  he  was  attracted  to  her, 
that  he  should  be  proud  of  her  as  his  wife,  that  he  should 
value  himself  always  as  the  proprietor  of  so  rare  a  person, 
that  no  appendage  to  his  existence  would  take  so  high  a 
place  in  his  thoughts.  This  implied  also,  what  is  of  great 
consequence  to  a  young  woman's  happiness  in  the  married 
state,  that  she  would  be  treated  with  uniform  politeness, 
with  satisfactory  evidences  of  affection,  and  with  a  degree 
of  confidence  quite  equal  to  what  a  reasonable  woman 
should  expect  from  a  very  superior  man,  her  husband. 

If  Myrtle  could  have  looked  through  the  window  in  the 
breast  against  which  only  authors  are  privileged  to  flatten 
their  features,  it  is  for  the  reader  to  judge  how  far  the  pro 
gramme  would  have  satisfied  her.  Less  than  this,  a  great 
deal  less,  does  appear  to  satisfy  many  young  women ;  and 
it  may  be  that  the  interior  just  drawn,  fairly  judged,  be 
longs  to  a  model  lover  and  husband.  Whether  it  does  or 
not,  Myrtle  did  not  see  this  picture.  There  was  a  beauti 
fully  embroidered  shirt-bosom  in  front  of  that  window 
through  which  we  have  just  looked,  that  intercepted  all 
sight  of  what  was  going  on  within.  She  only  saw  a  man, 
young,  handsome,  courtly,  with  a  winning  tongue,  with  an 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  309 

ambitious  spirit,  whose  every  look  and  tone  implied  his  ad 
miration  of  herself,  and  who  was  associated  with  her  past 
life  in  such  a  way  that  they  alone  appeared  like  old  friends 
in  the  midst  of  that  cold  alien  throng.  It  seemed  as  if  he 
could  not  have  chosen  a  more  auspicious  hour  than  this  ; 
for  she  never  looked  so  captivating,  and  her  presence  must 
inspire  his  lips  with  the  eloquence  of  love.  And  she  — 
was  not  this  delirious  atmosphere  of  light  and  music  just 
the  influence  to  which  he  would  wish  to  subject  her  before 
trying  the  last  experiment  of  all  which  can  stir  the  soul  of 
a  woman  ?  He  knew  the  mechanism  of  that  impressiona 
ble  state  which  served  Coleridge  so  excellently  well,  — 

"  All  impulses  of  soul  and  sense 
Had  thrilled  my  guileless  Genevieve  ; 
The  music,  and  the  doleful  tale, 
The  rich  and  balmy  eve,"  — 

though  he  hardly  expected  such  startling  results  as  hap 
pened  in  that  case,  —  which  might  be  taken  as  an  awful 
warning  not  to  sing  moving  ballads  to  young  ladies  of  sus 
ceptible  feelings,  unless  one  is  prepared  for  very  serious 
consequences.  Without  expecting  that  Myrtle  would  rush 
into  his  arms,  he  did  think  that  she  could  not  help  listening 
to  him  in  the  intervals  of  the  delicious  music,  in  some 
recess  where  the  roses  and  jasmines  and  heliotropes  made 
the  air  heavy  with  sweetness,  and  the  crimson  curtains 
drooped  in  heavy  folds  that  half  hid  their  forms  from  the 
curious  eyes  all  round  them.  Her  heart  would  swell  like 
Genevieve's  as  he  told  her  in  simple  phrase  that  she  was 
his  life,  his  love,  his  all,  —  for  in  some  two  or  three  words 
like  these  he  meant  to  put  his  appeal,  and  not  in  fine  poet 
ical  phrases :  tl)at  would  do  for  Gifted  Hopkins  and  rhym 
ing  tomtits  of  that  feather. 


310  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Full  of  his  purpose,  involving  the  plans  of  his  whole 
life,  implying,  as  he  saw  clearly,  a  brilliant  future  or  a 
disastrous  disappointment,  with  a  great  unexploded  mine 
of  consequences  under  his  feet,  and  the  spark  ready  to  fall 
into  it,  he  walked  about  the  gilded  saloon  with  a  smile 
upon  his  lips  so  perfectly  natural  and  pleasant,  that  one 
would  have  said  he  was  as  vacant  of  any  aim,  except  a 
sort  of  superficial  good-natured  disposition  to  be  amused,  as 
the  blankest-eyed  simpleton  who  had  tied  himself  up  in  a 
white  cravat  and  come  to  bore  and  be  bored. 

Yet  under  this  pleasant  smile  his  mind  was  so  busy  with 
its  thoughts  that  he  had  forgotten  all  about  the  guests  from 
Oxbow  Village  who,  as  Myrtle  had  told  him,  were  to  come 
this  evening.  His  eye  was  all  at  once  caught  by  a  famil 
iar  figure,  and  he  recognized  Master  Byles  Gridley,  accom 
panied  by  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins,  at  the  door  of  the  saloon. 
He  stepped  forward  at  once  to  meet  and  to  present  them. 

Mr.  Gridley  in  evening  costume  made  an  eminently  dig 
nified  and  respectable  appearance.  There  was  an  unusual 
look  of  benignity  upon  his  firmly  moulded  features,  and  an 
air  of  ease  which  rather  surprised  Mr.  Bradshaw,  who  did 
not  know  all  the  social  experiences  which  had  formed  a 
part  of  the  old  Master's  history.  The  greeting  between 
them  was  courteous,  but  somewhat  formal,  as  Mr.  Brad 
shaw  was  acting  as  one  of  the  masters  of  ceremony.  He 
nodded  to  Gifted  in  an  easy  way,  and  led  them  both  into 
the  immediate  Presence. 

"  This  is  my  friend  Professor  Gridley,  Mrs.  Ketchum, 
whom  I  have  the  honor  of  introducing  to  you,  —  a  very 
distinguished  scholar,  as  I  have  no  doubt  you  are  well 
aware.  And  this  is  my  friend  Mr.  Gifted  Hopkins,  a 
young  poet  of  distinction,  whose  fame  will  reach  you  by 
and  by,  if  it  has  not  come  to  your  ears  already." 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  311 

The  two  gentlemen  went  through  the  usual  forms,  the 
poet  a  little  crushed  by  the  Presence,  but  doing  his  best. 
"While  the  lady  was  making  polite  speeches  to  them,  Myr 
tle  Hazard  came  forward.  She  was  greatly  delighted  to 
meet  her  old  friend,  and  even  looked  upon  the  young  poet 
with  a  degree  of  pleasure  she  would  hardly  have  expected 
to  receive  from  his  company.  They  both  brought  with 
them  so  many  reminiscences  of  familiar  scenes  and  events, 
that  it  was  like  going  back  for  the  moment  to  Oxbow  Vil 
lage.  But  Myrtle  did  not  belong  to  herself  that  evening, 
and  had  no  opportunity  to  enter  into  conversation  just  then 
with  either  of  them.'  There  was  to  be  dancing  by  and  by, 
and  the  younger  people  were  getting  impatient  that  it 
should  begin.  At  last  the  music  sounded  the  well-known 
summons,  and  the  floors  began  to  ring  to  the  tread  of  the 
dancers.  As  usual  on  such  occasions  there  were  a  large 
number  of  non-combatants,  who  stood  as  spectators  around 
those  who  were  engaged  in  the  campaign  of  the  evening. 
Mr.  Byles  Gridley  looked  on  gravely,  thinking  of  the  min 
uets  and  the  gavots  of  his  younger  days.  Mr.  Gifted  Hop 
kins,  who  had  never  acquired  the  desirable  accomplishment 
of  dancing,  gazed  with  dazzled  and  admiring  eyes  at  the 
wonderful  evolutions  of  the  graceful  performers.  The  mu 
sic  stirred  him  a  good  deal ;  he  had  also  been  introduced 
to  one  or  two  young  persons  as  Mr.  Hopkins,  the  poet,  and 
he  began  to  feel  a  kind  of  excitement,  such  as  was  often 
the  prelude  of  a  lyric  burst  from  his  pen.  Others  might 
have  wealth  and  beauty,  he  thought  to  himself,  but  what 
were  these  to  the  gift  of  genius  ?  In  fifty  years  the  wealth 
of  these  people  would  have  passed  into  other  hands.  In 
fifty  years  all  these  beauties  would  be  dead,  or  wrinkled 
and  double-wrinkled  great-grandmothers.  And  when  they 


312  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

were  all  gone  and  forgotten,  the  name  of  Hopkins  would 
be  still  fresh  in  the  world's  memory.  Inspiring  thought ! 
A  smile  of  triumph  rose  to  his  lips ;  he  felt  that  the  village 
boy  who  could  look  forward  to  fame  as  his  inheritance  was 
richer  than  all  the  millionnaires,  and  that  the  words  he 
should  set  in  verse  would  have  an  enduring  lustre  to 
which  the  whiteness  of  pearls  was  cloudy,  and  the  sparkle 
of  diamonds  dull. 

He  raised  his  eyes,  which  had  been  cast  down  in  reflec 
tion,  to  look  upon  these  less  favored  children  of  Fortune, 
to  whom  she  had  given  nothing  but  perishable  inheritances. 
Two  or  three  pairs  of  eyes,  he  observed,  were  fastened  upon 
him.  His  mouth  perhaps  betrayed  a  little  self-conscious 
ness,  but  he  tried  to  show  his  features  in  an  aspect  of  dig 
nified  self-possession.  There  seemed  to  be  remarks  and 
questionings  going  on,  which  he  supposed  to  be  something 
like  the  following  :  — 

Which  is  it  ?  Which  is  it  ?  —  Why,  that  one,  there,  — 
that  young  fellow,  —  don't  you  see  ?  —  What  young  fellow 
are  you  two  looking  at  ?  Who  is  he  ?  What  is  he  ?  — 
Why,  that  is  Hopkins,  the  poet.  —  Hopkins,  the  poet ! 
Let  me  see  him  !  Let  me  see  him  !  —  Hopkins  ?  What ! 
Gifted  Hopkins  ?  etc.,  etc. 

Gifted  Hopkins  did  not  hear  these  words  except  in  fancy, 
but  he  did  unquestionably  find  a  considerable  number  of 
eyes  concentrated  upon  him,  which  he  very  naturally  inter 
preted  as  an  evidence  that  he  had  already  begun  to  enjoy 
a  foretaste  of  the  fame  of  which  he  should  hereafter  have 
his  full  allowance.  Some  seemed  to  be  glancing  furtively, 
some  appeared  as  if  they  wished  to  speak,  and  all  the  time 
the  number  of  those  looking  at  him  seemed  to  be  increasing. 
A  vision  came  through  his  fancy  of  himself  as  standing  on 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  313 

a  platform,  and  having  persons  who  wished  to  look  upon 
him  and  shake  hands  with  him  presented,  as  he  had  heard 
was  the  way  with  great  people  when  going  about  the  coun 
try.  But  this  was  only  a  suggestion,  and  by  no  means  a 
serious  thought,  for  that  would  have  implied  infatuation. 

Gifted  Hopkins  was  quite  right  in  believing  that  he  at 
tracted  many  eyes.  At  last  those  of  Myrtle  Hazard  were 
called  to  him,  and  she  perceived  that  an  accident  was  mak 
ing  him  unenviably  conspicuous.  The  bow  of  his  rather 
large  white  neck-tie  had  slid  round  and  got  beneath  his 
left  ear.  A  not  very  good-natured  or  well-bred  young  fel 
low  had  pointed  out  the  subject  of  this  slight  misfortune  to 
one  or  two  others  of  not  much  better  taste  or  breeding,  and 
thus  the  unusual  attention  the  youthful  poet  was  receiving 
explained  itself.  Myrtle  no  sooner  saw  the  little  accident 
of  which  her  rural  friend  was  the  victim,  than  she  left  her 
place  in  the  dance  with  a  simple  courage  which  did  her 
credit.  "I  want  to  speak  to  you  a  minute,"  she  said. 
"  Come  into  this  alcove." 

And  the  courageous  young  lady  not  only  told  Gifted 
what  had  happened  to  him,  but  found  a  pin  somehow,  as 
women  always  do  on  a  pinch,  and  had  him  in  presentable 
condition  again  almost  before  the  bewildered  young  man 
knew  what  was  the  matter.  On  reflection  it  occurred  to 
him,  as  it  has  to  other  provincial  young  persons  going  to 
great  cities,  that  he  might  perhaps  have  been  hasty  in 
thinking  himself  an  object  of  general  curiosity  as  yet. 
There  had  hardly  been  time  for  his  name  to  have  become 
very  widely  known.  Still,  the  feeling  had  been  pleasant 
for  the  moment,  and  had  given  him  an  idea  of  what  the 
rapture  would  be,  when,  wherever  he  went,  the  monster 
digit  (to  hint  a  classical  phrase)  of  the  collective  admiring 
14 


314  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

' 

public  would  be  lifted  to  point  him  out,  and  the  whisper 
would  pass  from  one  to  another,  "  That  ys  him !  That 's 
Hopkins ! " 

Mr.  Murray  Bradshaw  had  been  watching  the  opportu 
nity  for  carrying  out  his  intentions,  with  his  pleasant  smile 
covering  up  all  that  was  passing  in  his  mind,  and  Master 
Byles  Gridley,  looking  equally  unconcerned,  had  been 
watching  him.  The  young  man's  time  came  at  last. 
Some  were  at  the  supper-table,  some  were  promenading, 
some  were  talking,  when  he  managed  to  get  Myrtle  a  little 
apart  from  the  rest,  and  led  her  towards  one  of  the  recesses 
in  the  apartment,  where  two  chairs  were  invitingly  placed. 
Her  cheeks  were  flushed,  her  eyes  were  sparkling,  —  the 
influences  to  which  he  had  trusted  had  not  been  thrown 
away  upon  her.  He  had  no  idea  of  letting  his  purpose  be 
seen  until  he  was  fully  ready.  It  required  all  his  self- 
mastery  to  avoid  betraying  himself  by  look  or  tone,  but  ha 
was  so  natural  that  Myrtle  was  thrown  wholly  off  her 
guard.  He  meant  to  make  her  pleased  with  herself  at  the 
outset,  and  that  not  by  point-blank  flattery,  of  which  she 
had  had  more  than  enough  of  late,  but  rather  by  sugges 
tion  and  inference,  so  that  she  should  find  herself  feeling 
happy  without  knowing  how.  It  would  be  easy  to  glide 
from  that  to  the  impression  she  had  produced  upon  hirn, 
and  get  the  two  feelings  more  or  less  mingled  in  her  mind. 
And  so  the  simple  confession  he  meant  to  make  would  at 
length  evolve  itself  logically,  and  hold  by  a  natural  con 
nection  to  the  first  agreeable  train  of  thought  which  he  had 
called  up.  Not  the  way,  certainly,  that  most  young  men 
would  arrange  their  great  trial  scene ;  but  Murray  Brad 
shaw  was  a  lawyer  in  love  as  much  as  in  business,  and 
considered  himself  as  pleading  a  cause  before  a  jury  of 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  315 

Myrtle  Hazard's  conflicting  motives.  What  would  any 
lawyer  do  in  a  jury  case,  but  begin  by  giving  the  twelve 
honest  men  and  true  to  understand,  in  the  first  place,  that 
their  intelligence  and  virtue  were  conceded  by  all,  and  that 
he  himself  had  perfect  confidence  in  them,  and  leave  them 
to  shape  their  verdict  in  accordance  with  these  propositions 
and  his  own  side  of  the  case  ? 

Myrtle  had,  perhaps,  never  so  seriously  inclined  her  ear 
to  the  honeyed  accents  of  the  young  pleader.  He  flattered 
her  with  so  much  tact,  that  she  thought  she  heard  an  un 
conscious  echo  through  his  lips  of  an  admiration  which  he 
only  shared  with  all  around  him.  But  in  him  he  made  it 
seem  discriminating,  deliberate,  not  blind,  but  very  real. 
This  it  evidently  was  which  had  led  him  to  trust  her  with 
his  ambitions  and  his  plans,  —  they  might  be  delusions, 
but  he  could  never  keep  them  from  her,  and  she  was  the 
one  woman  in  the  world  to  whom  he  thought  he  could 
safely  give  his  confidence. 

The  dread  moment  was  close  at  hand.  Myrtle  was  lis 
tening  with  an  instinctive  premonition  of  what  was  coming, 
—  ten  thousand  mothers  and  grandmothers  and  great- 
grandmothers,  and  so  on,  had  passed  through  it  all  in  pre 
ceding  generations  until  time  reached  backwards  to  the 
sturdy  savage  who  asked  no  questions  of  any  kind,  but 
knocked  down  the  primeval  great  grandmother  of  all,  and 
carried  her  off  to  his  hole  in  the  rock,  or  into  the  tree 
where  he  had  made  his  nest.  Why  should  not  the  coming 
question  announce  itself  by  stirring  in  the  pulses  and  thrill 
ing  in  the  nerves  of  the  descendant  of  all  these  grand 
mothers  ? 

She  was  leaning  imperceptibly  towards  him,  drawn  by 
the  mere  blind  elemental  force,  as  the  plummet  was  at- 


316  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  . 

traded  to  the  side  of  Schehallien.  Her  lips  were  parted, 
and  she  breathed  a  little  faster  than  so  healthy  a  girl  ought 
to  breathe  in  a  state  of  repose.  The  steady  nerves  of 
William  Murray  Bradshaw  felt  unwonted  thrills  and  tre 
mors  tingling  through  them,  as  he  came  nearer  and  nearer 
the  few  simple  words  with  which  he  was  to  make  Myrtle 
Hazard  the  mistress  of  his  destiny.  His  tones  were  be 
coming  lower  and  more  serious  ;  there  were  slight  breaks 
once  or  twice  in  the  conversation  ;  Myrtle  had  cast  down 
her  eyes. 

"  There  is  but  one  word  more  to  add,"  he  murmured 
softly,  as  he  bent  towards  her  — 

A  grave  voice  interrupted  him.  "  Excuse  me,  Mr. 
Bradshaw,"  said  Master  Byles  Gridley,  "  I  wish  to  present 
a  young  gentleman  to  my  friend  here.  I  promised  to  show 
him  the  most  charming  young  person  I  have  the  honor  to 
be  acquainted  with,  and  I  must  redeem  my  pledge.  Miss 
Hazard,  I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  your  ac 
quaintance  my  distinguished  young  friend,  Mr.  Clement 
Lindsay." 

Once  more,  for  the  third  time,  these  two  young  persons 
stood  face  to  face.  Myrtle  was  no  longer  liable  to  those 
nervous  seizures  which  any  sudden  impression  was  liable 
to  produce  when  she  was  in  her  half-hysteric  state  of  mind 
and  body.  She  turned  to  the  new-comer,  who  found  him 
self  unexpectedly  submitted  to  a  test  which  he  would  never 
have  risked  of  his  own  will.  He  must  go  through  it,  cruol 
as  it  was,  with  the  easy  self-command  which  belongs  to  a 
gentleman  in  the  most  trying  social  exigencies.  He  ad 
dressed  her,  therefore,  in  the  usual  terms  of  courtesy,  and 
then  turned  and  greeted  Mr.  Bradshaw,  whom  he  had 
never  met  since  their  coming  together  at  Oxbow  Village. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  317 

Myrtle  was  conscious,  the  instant  she  looked  upon  Clement 
Lindsay,  of  the  existence  of  some  peculiar  relation  between 
them ;  but  what,  she  could  not  tell.  Whatever  it  was,  it 
broke  the  charm  which  had  be'en  weaving  between  her  and 
Murray  Bradshaw.  He  was  not  foolish  enough  to  make  a 
scene.  What  fault  could  he  find  with  Clement  Lindsay, 
who  had  only  done  as  any  gentleman  would  do  with  a  lady 
to  whom  he  had  just  been  introduced,  —  addressed  a  few 
polite  words  to  her  ?  After  saying  those  words,  Clement 
had  turned  very  courteously  to  him,  and  they  had  spoken 
with  each  other.  But  Murray  Bradshaw  could  not  help 
seeing  that  Myrtle  had  transferred  her  attention,  at  least 
for  the  moment,  from  him  to  the  new-comer.  He  folded 
his  arms  and  waited,  —  but  he  waited  in  vain.  The  hid 
den  attraction  which  drew  Clement  to  the  young  girl  with 
whom  he  had  passed  into  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow  of 
Death  overmastered  all  other  feelings,  and  he  gave  himself 
up  to  the  fascination  of  her  presence. 

The  inward  rage  of  Murray  Bradshaw  at  being  inter 
rupted  just  at  the  moment  when  he  was,  as  he  thought, 
about  to  cry  checkmate  and  finish  the  first  great  game  he 
had  ever  played,  may  well  be  imagined.  But  it  could  not 
be  helped.  Myrtle  had  exercised  the  customary  privilege 
of  young  ladies  at  parties,  and  had  turned  from  talking 
with  one  to  talking  with  another,  —  that  was  all.  Fortu 
nately  for  him  the  young  man  who  had  been  introduced  at 
such  a  most  critical  moment  was  not  one  from  whom  he 
need  apprehend  any  serious  interference.  He  felt  grateful 
beyond  measure  to  pretty  Susan  Posey,  who,  as  he  had 
good  reason  for  believing,  retained  her  hold  upon  her  early 
lover,  and  was  looking  forward  with  bashful  interest  to  the 
time  when  she  should  become  Mrs.  Lindsay.  It  was  bet- 


318  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

ter  to  put  up  quietly  with  his  disappointment ;  and,  if  he 
could  get  no  favorable  opportunity  that  evening  to  resume 
his  conversation  at  the  interesting  point  where  he  left  it  off, 
he  would  call  the  next  day  and  bring  matters  to  a  conclu 
sion. 

He  called  accordingly  the  next  morning,  but  was  disap 
pointed  in  not  seeing  Myrtle.  She  had  hardly  slept  that 
night,  and  was  suffering  from  a  bad  headache,  which  last 
reason  was  her  excuse  for  not  seeing  company. 

He  called  again,  the  following  day,  and  learned  that 
Miss  Hazard  had  just  left  the  city,  and  gone  on  a  visit  to 
Oxbow  Village. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  319 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

MINE     AND     COUNTERMINE. 

WHAT  the  nature  of  the  telegram  was  which  had 
produced  such  an  effect  on  the  feelings  and  plans 
of  Mr.  "William  Murray  Bradshaw  nobody  especially  in 
terested  knew  but  himself.  We  may  conjecture  that  it  an 
nounced  some  fact,  which  had  leaked  out  a  little  prema 
turely,  relating  to  the  issue  of  the  great  land-case  in  which 
the  firm  was  interested.  However  that  might  be,  Mr. 
Bradshaw  no  sooner  heard  that  Myrtle  had  suddenly  left 
the  city  for  Oxbow  Village,  —  for  what  reason  he  puzzled 
himself  to  guess,  —  than  he  determined  to  follow  her  at 
once,  and  take  up  the  conversation  he  had  begun  at  the 
party  where  it  left  off.  And  as  the  young  poet  had  received 
his  quietus  for  the  present  at  the  publisher's,  and  as  Master 
Gridley  had  nothing  specially  to  detain  him,  they  too  re 
turned  at  about  the  same  time,  and  so  our  old  acquaint 
ances  were  once  more  together  within  the  familiar  pre 
cincts  where  we  have  been  accustomed  to  see  them. 

Master  Gridley  did  not  like  playing  the  part  of  a  spy, 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  was  an  old  college 
officer,  and  had  something  of  the  detective's  sagacity,  and 
a  certain  cunning  derived  from  the  habit  of  keeping  an 
eye  on  mischievous  students.  If  any  underhand  contriv 
ance  was  at  work,  involving  the  welfare  of  any  one  in 
whom  he  was  interested,  he  was  a  dangerous  person  for 
the  plotters,  for  he  had  plenty  of  time  to  attend  to  them, 
and  would  be  apt  to  take  a  kind  of  pleasure  in  matching 


320  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

his  wits  against  another  crafty  person's,  —  such  a  one,  for 
instance,  as  Mr.  Macchiavelli  Bradshaw. 

Perhaps  he  caught  some  words  of  that  gentleman's  con 
versation  at  the  party ;  at  any  rate,  he  could  not  fail  to 
observe  his  manner.  When  he  found  that  the  young  man 
had  followed  Myrtle  back  to  the  village,  he  suspected 
something  more  than  a  coincidence.  When  he  learned 
that  he  was  assiduously  visiting  The  Poplars,  and  that  he 
was  in  close  communication  with  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam, 
he  felt  sure  that  he  was  pressing  the  siege  of  Myrtle's 
heart.  But  that  there  was  some  difficulty  in  the  way  was 
equally  clear  to  him,  for  he  ascertained,  through  channels 
which  the  attentive  reader  will  soon  have  means  of  conjec 
turing,  that  Myrtle  had  seen  him  but  once  in  the  week 
following  his  return,  and  that  in  the  presence  of  her  dragons. 
She  had  various  excuses  when  he  called,  —  headaches, 
perhaps,  among  the  rest,  as  these  are  staple  articles  on 
such  occasions.  But  Master  Gridley  knew  his  man  too 
well  to  think  that  slight  obstacles  would  prevent  his  going 
forward  to  effect  his  purpose. 

"  I  think  he  will  get  her,  if  he  holds  on,"  the  old  man 
said  to  himself,  "and  he  won't  let  go  in  a  hurry.  If 
there  were  any  real  love  about  it  —  but  surely  he  is  inca 
pable  of  such  a  human  weakness  as  the  tender  passion. 
What  does  all  this  sudden  concentration  upon  the  girl 
mean?  He  knows  something  about  her  that  we  don't 
know,  —  that  must  be  it.  What  did  he  hide  that  paper 
for,  a  year  ago  and  more  ?  Could  that  have  anything  to 
do  with  his  pursuit  of  Myrtle  Hazard  to-day  ?  " 

Master  Gridley  paused  as  he  asked  this  question  of 
himself,  for  a  luminous  idea  had  struck  him.  Consulting 
daily  with  Cynthia  Badlam,  was  he  ?  Could  there  be  a 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  321 

conspiracy  between  these  two  persons  to  conceal  some 
important  fact,  or  to  keep  something  back  until  it  would 
be  for  their  common  interest  to  have  it  made  known  ? 

Now  Mistress  Kitty  Fagan  was  devoted,  heart  and  soul, 
to  Myrtle  Hazard,  and  ever  since  she  had  received  the 
young  girl  from  Mr.  Gridley's  hands,  when  he  brought 
her  back  safe  and  sound  after  her  memorable  adventure, 
had  considered  him  as  Myrtle's  best  friend  and  natural 
protector.  These  simple  creatures,  whose  thoughts  are 
not  taken  up,  like  those  of  educated  people,  with  the  care 
of  a  great  museum  of  dead  phrases,  are  very  quick  to  see 
the  live  facts  which  are  going  on  about  them.  Mr.  Grid- 
ley  had  met  her,  more  or  less  accidentally,  several  times 
of  late,  and  inquired  very  particularly  about  Myrtle,  and 
how  she  got  along  at  the  house  since  her  return,  and 
whether  she  was  getting  over  her  headaches,  and  how  they 
treated  her  in  the  family. 

"  Bliss  your  heart,  Mr.  Gridley,"  Kitty  said  to  him  on 
one  of  these  occasions,  "  it 's  ahltogither  changed  intirely. 
Sure  Miss  Myrtle  does  jist  iverythin'  she  likes,  an*  Miss 
Withers  niver  middles  with  her  at  ahl,  excip' jist  to  roll 
up  her  eyes  an'  look  as  if  she  was  the  hid-moorner  at 
a  funeril  whiniver  Miss  Myrtle  says  she  wants  to  do  this 
or  that,  or  to  go  here  or  there.  It 's  Miss  Badlam  that 's 
ahlwiz  after  her,  an'  a-watchin'  her,  —  she  thinks  she's 
cunnin'er  than  a  cat,  but  there 's  other  folks  that 's  got 
eyes  an'  ears  as  good  as  hers.  It 's  that  Mr.  Bridshaw 
that's  a  puttin'  his  head  together  with  Miss  Badlam  for 
Bomethin'  or  other,  an'  I  don't  believe  there  's  no  good  in 
jt,  —  for  what  does  the  fox  an'  the  cat  be  a  whisperin' 
about,  as  if  they  was  thaves  an'  incind'ries,  if  there  ain't 
no  mischief  hatchin'  ?  " 

H*  u 


322  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  Why,  Kitty,"  he  said,  "  what  mischief  do  you  think 
is  going  on,  and  who  is  to  be  harmed  ?  " 

"  O  Mr.  Gridley,"  she  answered,  "  if  there  ain't  some 
body  to  be  chated  somehow,  then  I  don't  know  an  honest 
man  and  woman  from  two  rogues.  An'  have  n't  I  heard 
Miss  Myrtle's  name  whispered  as  if  there  was  somethin' 
goin'  on  agin'  her,  an'  they  was  afraid  the  tahk  would  go 
out  through  the  doors,  an'  up  through  the  chimbley  ?  I 
don't  want  to  tell  no  tales,  Mr.  Gridley,  nor  to  hurt  no  hon 
est  body,  for  I  'm  a  poor  woman,  Mr.  Gridley,  but  I  comes 
of  dacent  folks,  an'  I  vallies  my  repitation  an'  character  as 
much  as  if  I  was  dressed  in  silks  and  satins  instead  of  this 
mane  old  gown,  savin'  your  presence,  which  is  the  best 
I  've  got,  an'  niver  a  dollar  to  buy  another.  But  if  iver 
I  hears  a  word,  Mr.  Gridley,  that  manes  any  kind  of  a  mis 
chief  to  Miss  Myrtle,  —  the  Lard  bliss  her  soul  an'  keep 
ahl  the  divils  away  from  her !  —  I  '11  be  runnin'  straight 
down  here  to  tell  ye  ahl  about  it,  —  be  right  sure  o'  that, 
Mr.  Gridley." 

"  Nothing  .must  happen  to  Myrtle,"  he  said,  "  that  we 
can  help.  If  you  see  anything  more  that  looks  wrong, 
you  had  better  come  down  here  at  once  and  let  me  know, 
as  you  say  you  will.  At  once,  you  understand.  And, 
Kitty,  I  am  a  little  particular  about  the  dress  of  people 
who  come  to  see  me,  so  that  if  you  would  just  take  the 
trouble  to  get  you  a  tidy  pattern  of  gingham  or  jbalico,  or 
whatever  you  like  of  that  sort  for  a  gown,  you  would  please 
me  ;  and  perhaps  this  little  trifle  will  be  a  convenience  to 
you  when  you  come  to  pay  for  it." 

Kitty  thanked  him  with  all  the  natipnal  accompani 
ments,  and  trotted  off  to  the  store,  where  Mr.  Gifted  Hop 
kins  displayed  the  native  amiability  of  his  temper  by 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  323 

tumbling  down  everything  in  the  shape  of  ginghams  and 
calicos  they  had  on  the  shelves,  without  a  murmur  at  the 
taste  of  his  customer,  who  found  it  hard  to  get  a  pattern 
sufficiently  emphatic  for  her  taste.  She  succeeded  at  last, 
and  laid  down  a  five-dollar  bill  as  if  she  were  as  used  to 
the  pleasing  figure  on  its  face  as  to  the  sight  of  her  own 
five  digits. 

Master  Byles  Gridley  had  struck  a  spade  deeper  than 
he  knew  into  his  first  countermine,  for  Kitty  had  none  of 
those  delicate  scruples  about  the  means  of  obtaining  infor 
mation  which  might  have  embarrassed  a  diplomatist  of 
higher  degree. 


324  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

MR.    BRADS  HAW  CALLS   ON   MISS   BADLAM. 

«  T  S  Miss  Hazard  in,  Kitty  ?  " 

JL  "  Indade  she  's  in,  Mr.  Bridshaw,  but  she  won't  see 
nobody." 

"  What 's  the  meaning  of  that,  Kitty  ?  Here  is  the  third 
time  within  three  days  you  've  told  me  I  could  n't  see 
her.  She  saw  Mr.  Gridley  yesterday,  I  know ;  why  won't 
she  see  me  to-day  ?  " 

"Y'  must  ask  Miss  Myrtle  what  the  rason  is,  —  it's 
none  o'  my  business,  Mr.  Bridshaw.  That 's  the  order  she 
give  me." 

"IsMissBadlamin?" 

"  Indade  she  's  in,  Mr.  Bridshaw,  an'  I  '11  go  cahl  her." 

"  Bedad,"  said  Kitty  Fagan  to  herself,  "  the  cat  an'  the 
fox  is  goin'  to  have  another  o'  thim  big  tahks  togither,  an* 
sure  the  old  hole  for  the  stove-pipe  has  niver  been  stopped 
up  yet." 

Mr.  Bradshaw  and  Miss  Cynthia  went  into  the  parlor 
together,  and  Mistress  Kitty  retired  to  her  kitchen. 
There  was  a  deep  closet  belonging  to  this  apartment,  sepa 
rated  by  a  partition  from  the  parlor.  There  was  a  round 
hole  high  up  in  this  partition  through  which  a  stove-pipe 
had  once  passed.  Mistress  Kitty  placed  a  stool  just  under 
this  opening,  upon  which,  as  on  a  pedestal,  she  posed  her 
self  with  great  precaution  in  the  attitude  of  the  goddess  of 
other  people's  secrets,  that  is  to  say,  with  her  head  a  little 
on  one  side,  so  as  to  bring  her  liveliest  ear  close  to  the 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  325 

opening.  The  conversation  which  took  place  in  the  hear 
ing  of  the  invisible  third  party  began  in  a  singularly  free- 
and-easy  manner  on  Mr.  Bradshaw's  part. 

"  What  the  d  is  the  reason  I  can't  see  Myrtle,  Cynthia  ?  " 
"  That 's  more  than  I  can  tell  you,  Mr.  Bradshaw.     I 
can  watch  her  goings  on,  but  I  can't  account  for  her  tan 
trums." 

"  You  say  she  has  had  some  of  her  old  nervous  whims, 

—  has  the  doctor  been  to  see  her  ?  " 

"  No  indeed.  She  has  kept  to  herself  a  good  deal,  but 
I  don't  think  there 's  anything  in  particular  the  matter  with 
her.  She  looks  well  enough,  only  she  seems  a  little  queer, 

—  as  girls  do  that  have  taken  a  fancy  into  their  heads  that 
they  're  in  love,  you  know,  —  absent-minded,  —  does  n't 
seem  to  be  interested  in  things  as  you  would  expect  after 
being  away  so  long." 

Mr.  Bradshaw  looked  as  if  this  did  not  please  him  par 
ticularly.  If  he  was  the  object  of  her  thoughts  she  would 
not  avoid  him,  surely. 

"  Have  you  kept  your  eye  on  her  steadily  ?  " 
"  I  don't  believe  there  is  an  hour  we  can't  account  for,  — 
Kitty  and  I  between  us." 

"  Are  you  sure  you  can  depend  on  Kitty  ?  " 
["Depind  on  Kitty,  is  it  ?  O,  an'  to  be  sure  ye  can  de- 
pind  on  Kitty  to  kape  watch  at  the  stove-pipe  hole,  an'  to 
tell  all  y'r  plottin's  an'  contrivin's  to  them  that  '11  get  the 
cheese  out  o'  y'r  mousetrap  for  ye  before  ye  catch  any  poor 
cratur  in  it."  This  was  the  inaudible  comment  of  the  un 
seen  third  party.] 

"  Of  course  I  can  depend  on  her  as  far  as  I  trust  her. 
All  she  knows  is  that  she  must  look  out  for  the  girl  to  see 
that  she  does  not  run  away  or  do  herself  a  mischief.  The 


326  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Biddies  don't  know  much,  but  they  know  enough  to  keep  a 
watch  on  the  —  " 

"  Chickens."  Mr.  Bradshaw  playfully  finished  the  sen 
tence  for  Miss  Cynthia. 

["  An'  on  the  foxes,  an'  the  cats,  an'  the  wazels,  an'  the 
hen-hahks,  an'  ahl  the  other  bastes,"  added  the  invisible 
witness,  in  unheard  soliloquy.] 

"  I  ain't  sure  whether  she  's  quite  as  stupid  as  she  looks," 
said  the  suspicious  young  lawyer.  "  There  's  a  little  cun 
ning  twinkle  in  her  eye  sometimes  that  makes  me  think 
she  might  be  up  to  a  trick  on  occasion.  Does  she  ever 
listen  about  to  hear  what  people  are  saying  ?  " 

"  Don't  trouble  yourself  about  Kitty  Fagan,  for  pity's 
sake,  Mr.  Bradshaw.  The  Biddies  are  all  alike,  and 
they  're  all  as  stupid  as  owls,  except  when  you  tell  'em 
just  what  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it.  A  pack  of  priest-ridden 
fools ! " 

The  hot  Celtic  blood  in  Kitty  Fagan's  heart  gave  a  leap. 
The  stout  muscles  gave  an  involuntary  jerk.  The  sub 
stantial  frame  felt  the  thrill  all  through,  and  the  rickety 
stool  on  which  she  was  standing  creaked  sharply  under  its 
burden. 

Murray  Bradshaw  started.  He  got  up  and  opened 
softly  all  the  doors  leading  from  the  room,  one  after 
another,  and  looked  out. 

"  I  thought  I  heard  a  noise  as  if  somebody  was  moving, 
Cynthia.  It 's  just  as  well  to  keep  our  own  matters  to  our 
selves." 

"  If  you  wait  till  this  old  house  keeps  still,  Mr.  Brad 
shaw,  you  might  as  well  wait  till  the  river  has  run  by. 
It 's  as  full  of  rats  and  mice  as  an  old  cheese  is  of  mites. 
There  's  a  hundred  old  rats  in  this  house,  and  that 's  what 
you  hear." 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  327 

["  An'  one  old  cat ;  that 's  what  /  hear."    Third  party.] 

"  I  told  you,  Cynthia,  I  must  be  off  on  this  business  to 
morrow.  I  want  to  know  that  everything  is  safe  before  I 
go.  And,  besides,  I  have  got  something  to  say  to  you 
that 's  important,  —  very  important,  mind  you." 

He  got  up  once  more  and  opened  every  door  softly  and 
looked  out.  He  fixed  his  eye  suspiciously  on  a  large  sofa 
at  the  other  side  of  the  room,  and  went,  looking  half 
ashamed  of  his  extreme  precaution,  and  peeped  under  it, 
to  see  if  there  was  any  one  hidden  there  to  listen.  Then 
he  came  back  and  drew  his  chair  close  up  to  the  table  at 
which  Miss  Badlam  had  seated  herself.  The  conversation 
which  followed  was  in  a  low  tone,  and  a  portion  of  it  must 
be  given  in  another  place  in  the  words  of  the  third  party. 
The  beginning  of  it  we  are  able  to  supply  in  this  connec 
tion. 

"  Look  here,  Cynthia ;  you  know  what  I  am  going  for. 
It 's  all  right,  I  feel  sure,  for  I  have  had  private  means  of 
finding  out.  It 's  a  sure  thing  ;  but  I  must  go  once  more 
to  see  that  the  other  fellows  don't  try  any  trick  on  us.  You 
understand  what  is  for  my  advantage  is  for  yours,  and,  if  I 
go  wrong,  you  go  overboard  with  me.  Now  I  must  leave 
the  —  you  know  —  behind  me.  I  can't  leave  it  in  the 
house  or  the  office  :  they  might  burn  up.  I  won't  have  it 
about  me  when  I  am  travelling.  Draw  your  chair  a  little 
more  this  way.  Now  listen." 

["  Indade  I  will,"  said  the  third  party  to  herself.  The 
reader  will  find  out  in  due  time  whether  she  listened  to 
any  purpose  or  not] 

In  the  mean  time  Myrtle,  who  for  some  reason  was 
rather  nervous  and  restless,  had  found  a  pair  of  half- 


828  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

finished  slippers  which  she  had  left  behind  her.  The  color 
came  into  her  cheeks  when  she  remembered  the  state  of 
mind  she  was  in  when  she  was  working  on  them  for  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Stoker.  She  recollected  Master  Gridley's  mis 
take  about  their  destination,  and  determined  to  follow  the 
hint  he  had  given.  It  would  please  him  better  if  she  sent 
them  to  good  Father  Pemberton,  she  felt  sure,  than  if  he 
should  get  them  himself.  So  she  enlarged  them  somewhat, 
(for  the  old  man  did  not  pinch  his  feet,  as  the  younger 
clergyman  was  in  the  habit  of  doing,  and  was,  besides,  of 
portly  dimensions,  as  the  old  orthodox  three-deckers  were 
apt  to  be,)  and  worked  E.  P.  very  handsomely  into  the 
pattern,  and  sent  them  to  him  with  her  love  and  respect, 
to  his  great  delight ;  for  old  ministers  do  not  have  quite  so 
many  tokens  of  affection  from  fair  hands  as  younger  ones. 

What  made  Myrtle  nervous  and  restless  ?  Why  had 
she  quitted  the  city  so  abruptly,  and  fled  to  her  old  home, 
leaving  all  the  gayeties  behind  her  which  had  so  attracted 
and  dazzled  her? 

She  had  not  betrayed  herself  at  the  third  meeting  with 
the  young  man  who  stood  in  such  an  extraordinary  rela 
tion  to  her,  —  who  had  actually  given  her  life  from  his 
own  breath,  —  as  when  she  met  him  for  the  second  time. 
Whether  his  introduction  to  her  at  the  party,  just  at  the 
instant  when  Murray  Bradshaw  was  about  to  make  a  dec 
laration,  saved  her  from  being  in  another  moment  the 
promised  bride  of  that  young  gentleman,  or  not,  we  will 
not  be  so  rash  as  to  say.  It  looked,  certainly,  as  if  he 
was  in  a  fair  way  to  carry  his  point ;  but  perhaps  she 
would  have  hesitated,  or  shrunk  back,  when  the  great 
question  came  to  stare  her  in  the  face. 

She  was  excited,  at  any  rate,  by  the  conversation,  so 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  329 

that,  when  Clement  was  presented  to  her,  her  thoughts 
could  not  at  once  be  all  called  away  from  her  other  admirer, 
and  she  was  saved  from  all  danger  of  that  sudden  disturb 
ance  which  had  followed  their  second  meeting.  Whatever 
impression  he  made  upon  her  developed  itself  gradually,  — 
still,  she  felt  strangely  drawn  towards  him.  It  was  not 
simply  in  his  good  looks,  in  his  good  manners,  in  his  con 
versation,  that  she  found  this  attraction,  but  there  was  a 
singular  fascination  which  she  felt  might  be  dangerous  to 
her  peace,  without  explaining  it  to  herself  in  words.  She 
could  hardly  be  in  love  with  this  young  artist ;  she  knew 
that  his  affections  were  plighted  to  another,  —  a  fact  which 
keeps  most  young  women  from  indulging  unruly  fancies ; 
yet  her  mind  was  possessed  by  his  image  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  left  little  room  for  that  of  Mr.  William  Murray 
Bradshaw. 

Myrtle  Hazard  had  been  just  ready  to  enter  on  a  career 
of  worldly  vanity  and  ambition.  It  is  hard  to  blame  her, 
for  we  know  how  she  came  by  the  tendency.  She  had 
every  quality,  too,  which  fitted  her  to  shine  in  the  gay 
world  ;  and  the  general  law  is,  that  those  who  have  the 
power  have  the  instinct  to  use  it.  We  do  not  suppose  that 
the  bracelet  on  her  arm  was  an  amulet,  but  it  was  a  sym 
bol.  It  reminded  her  of  her  descent;  it  kept  alive  the 
desire  to  live  over  the  joys  and  excitements  of  a  bygone 
generation.  If  she  had  accepted  Murray  Bradshaw,  she 
would  have  pledged  herself  to  a  worldly  life.  If  she  had 
refused  him,  it  would  perhaps  have  given  her  a  taste  of 
power  that  might  have  turned  her  into  a  coquette.  This 
new  impression  saved  her  for  the  time.  She  had  come 
back  to  her  nest  in  the  village  like  a  frightened  bird ;  her 
heart  was  throbbing,  her  nerves  were  thrilling,  her  dreams 


330  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

were  agitated ;  she  wanted  to  be  quiet,  and  could  not  listen 
to  the  flatteries  or  entreaties  of  her  old  lover. 

It  was  a  strong  will  and  a  subtle  intellect  that  had 
arrayed  their  force  and  skill  against  the  ill-defended  citadel 
of  Myrtle's  heart.  Murray  Bradshaw  was  perfectly  deter 
mined,  and  not  to  be  kept  back  by  any  trivial  hindrances, 
such  as  her  present  unwillingness  to  accept  him,  or  even 
her  repugnance  to  him,  if  a  freak  of  the  moment  had  car 
ried  her  so  far.  It  was  a  settled  thing  :  Myrtle  Hazard 
must  become  Mrs.  Bradshaw ;  and  nobody  could  deny  that, 
if  he  gave  her  his  name,  they  had  a  chance,  at  least,  for  a 
brilliant  future. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  331 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

MISTRESS  KITTY  FAGAN  CALLS  ON  MASTER  BYLES  GRIDLEY. 


«  T  'D  like  to  go  d 
J_    Withers,  plase. 


down  to  the  store  this  mornin',  Miss 
Sure  I  've  niver  a  shoe  to  my  fut, 
only  jist  these  two  that  I  've  got  on,  an'  one  other  pair,  and 
thim  is  so  full  of  holes  that  whin  I  'm  standin'  in  'em  I  'm 
outside  of  'em  intirely." 

"  You  can  go,  Kitty,"  Miss  Silence  answered,  fune 
really. 

Thereupon  Kitty  Fagan  proceeded  to  array  herself  in 
her  most  tidy  apparel,  including  a  pair  of  shoes  not  exactly 
answering  to  her  description,  and  set  out  straight  for  the 
house  of  the  "Widow  Hopkins.  Arrived  at  that  respecta 
ble  mansion,  she  inquired  for  Mr.  Gridley,  and  was  in 
formed  that  he  was  at  home.  Had  a  message  for  him,  — 
could  she  see  him  in  his  study  ?  She  could  if  she  would 
wait  a  little  while.  Mr.  Gridley  was  busy  just  at  this 
minute.  Sit  down,  Kitty,  and  warm  yourself  at  the  cook 
ing-stove. 

Mistress  Kitty  accepted  Mrs.  Hopkins's  hospitable  offer, 
and  presently  began  orienting  herself,  and  getting  ready 
to  make  herself  agreeable.  The  kind-hearted  Mrs.  Hop 
kins  had  gathered  about  her  several  other  pensioners  be 
sides  the  twins.  These  two  little  people,  it  may  be  here 
mentioned,  were  just  taking  a  morning  airing  in  charge  of 
Susan  Posey,  who  strolled  along  in  company  with  Gifted 
Hopkins  on  his  way  to  "the  store." 

Mistress  Kitty  soon  began  the  conversational  blandish- 


332  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

ments  so  natural  to  her  good-humored  race.  "  It 's  a  little 
blarney  that  '11  jist  suit  th'  old  lady,"  she  said  to  herself, 
as  she  made  her  first  conciliatory  advance. 

"  An'  sure  an'  it 's  a  beautiful  kitten  you  've  got  there, 
Mrs.  Hopkins.  An'  it  's  a  splindid  mouser  she  is,  I  '11  be 
bound.  Does  n't  she  look  as  if  she  'd  clane  the  house  out 
o'  them  little  bastes, — bad  luck  to  'em!" 

Mrs.  Hopkins  looked  benignantly  upon  the  more  than 
middle-aged  tabby,  slumbering  as  if  she  had  never  known 
an  enemy,  and  turned  smiling  to  Mistress  Kitty.  "  Why, 
bless  your  heart,  Kitty,  our  old  puss  would  n't  know  a 
mouse  by  sight,  if  you  showed  her  one.  If  I  was  a  mouse, 
I  'd  as  lieves  have  a  nest  in  one  of  that  old  cat's  ears  as 
anywhere  else.  You  could  n't  find  a  safer  place  for  one." 

"  Indade,  an'  to  be  sure  she  's  too  big  an'  too  handsome 
a  pussy  to  be  after  wastin'  her  time  on  them  little  bastes. 
It 's  that  little  tarrier  dog  of  yours,  Mrs.  Hopkins,  that 
will  be  after  worryin'  the  mice  an'  the  rats,  an'  the  thaves 
too,  I  '11  warrant.  Is  n't  he  a  fust-rate-lookin'  watch-dog, 
an'  a  rig'ler  rat-hound  ?  " 

Mrs.  Hopkins  looked  at  the  little  short-legged  and  short- 
winded  animal  of  miscellaneous  extraction  with  an  expres 
sion  of  contempt  and  affection,  mingled  about  half  and 
half.  "  Worry  'em !  If  they  wanted  to  sleep,  I  rather  guess 
he  would  worry  'em !  If  bark  in'  would  do  their  job  for 
'em,  nary  a  mouse  nor  rat  would  board  free  gratis  in  my 
house  as  they  do  now.  Noisy  little  good-for-nothing  tike, 
—  ain't  you,  Fret  ?  " 

Mistress  Kitty  was  put  back  a  little  by  two  such  signal 
failures.  There  was  another  chance,  however,  to  make 
her  point,  which  she  presently  availed  herself  of,  —  feeling 
pretty  sure  this  time  that  she  should  effect  a  lodgement. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  333 

Mrs.  Hopkins's  parrot  had  been  observing  Kitty,  first  with 
one  eye  and  then  with  the  other,  evidently  preparing  to 
make  a  remark,  but  awkward  with  a  stranger.  "  That 's 
a  beautiful  par't  y  've  got  there,"  Kitty  said,  buoyant  with 
the  certainty  that  she  was  on  safe  ground  this  time ;  "  and 
tahks  like  a  book,  I'll  be  bound.  Poll!  Poll!  Poor 
Poll ! " 

She  put  forth  her  hand  to  caress  the  intelligent  and 
affable  bird,  which,  instead  of  responding  as  expected, 
"  squawked,"  as  our  phonetic  language  has  it,  and,  opening 
a  beak  imitated  from  a  tooth-drawing  instrument  of  the 
good  old  days,  made  a  shrewd  nip  at  Kitty's  forefinger. 
She  drew  it  back  with  a  jerk. 

"  An'  is  that  the  way  your  par't  tahks,  Mrs.  Hopkins  ?  " 

"  Talks,  bless  you,  Kitty  !  why,  that  parrot  has  njt  said 
a  word  this  ten  year.  He  used  to  say  Poor  Poll !  when 
we  first  had  him,  but  he  found  it  was  easier  to  squawk,  and 
that 's  all  he  ever  does  now-a-days,  —  except  bite  once  in 
a  while." 

"  Well,  an'  to  be  sure,"  Kitty  answered,  radiant  as  she 
rose  from  her  defeats,  "  if  you  '11  kape  a  cat  that  does  n't 
know  a  mouse  when  she  sees  it,  an'  a  dog  that  only  barks 
for  his  livin',  and  a  par't  that  only  squawks  an'  bites  an' 
niver  spakes  a  word,  ye  must  be  the  best-hearted  woman 
that 's  alive,  an'  bliss  ye,  if  ye  was  only  a  good  Catholic, 
the  Holy  Father  'd  make  a  saint  of  ye  in  less  than  no 
time ! " 

So  Mistress  Kitty  Fagan  got  in  her  bit  of  Celtic  flattery, 
in  spite  of  her  three  successive  discomfitures. 

"  You  may  come  up  now,  Kitty,"  said  Mr.  Gridley  over 
the  stairs.  He  had  just  finished  and  sealed  a  letter. 

"  Well,  Kitty,  how  are  things  going  on  up  at  The  Pop- 


334  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

lars?  And  how  does  our  young  lady  seem  to  be  of 
late?" 

"  Whisht !  whisht !  your  honor." 

Mr.  Bradshaw's  lessons  had  not  been  thrown  away  on 
his  attentive  listener.  She  opened  every  door  in  the  room, 
"  by  your  lave,"  as  she  said.  She  looked  all  over  the  walls 
to  see  if  there  was  any  old  stove-pipe  hole  or  other  avenue 
to  eye  or  ear.  Then  she  went,  in  her  excess  of  caution,  to 
the  window.  She  saw  nothing  noteworthy  except  Mr. 
Gifted  Hopkins  and  the  charge  he  convoyed,  large  and 
small,  in  the  distance.  The  whole  living  fleet  was  station 
ary  for  the  moment,  he  leaning  on  the  fence  with  his  cheek 
on  his  hand,  in  one  of  the  attitudes  of  the  late  Lord  Byron  ; 
she,  very  near  him,  listening,  apparently,  in  the  pose  of 
Mignon  aspirant  au  del,  as  rendered  by  Carlo  Dolce 
SchefFer. 

Kitty  came  back,  apparently  satisfied,  and  stood  close  to 
Mr.  Gridley,  who  told  her  to  sit  down,  which  she  did,  first 
making  a  catch  at  her  apron  to  dust  the  chair  with,  and 
then  remembering  that  she  had  left  that  part  of  her  cos 
tume  at  home.  —  Automatic  movements,  curious. 

Mistress  Kitty  began  telling  in  an  undertone  of  the 
meeting  between  Mr.  Bradshaw  and  Miss  Badlam,  and  of 
the  arrangements  she  made  for  herself  as  the  reporter  of 
the  occasion.  She  then  repeated  to  him,  in  her  own  way, 
that  part  of  the  conversation  which  has  been  already  laid 
before  the  reader.  There  is  no  need  of  going  over  the 
whole  of  this  again  in  Kitty's  version,  but  we  may  fit  what 
followed  into  the  joints  of  what  has  been  already  told. 

"  He  cahled  her  Cynthy,  d'  ye  see,  Mr.  Gridley,  an* 
tahked  to  her  jist  as  asy  as  if  they  was  two  rogues,  and  she 
knowed  it  as  well  as  he  did.  An'  so,  says  he,  I  'm  goin' 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  335 

away,  says  he,  an'  I  'm  goin'  to  be  gahn  siveral  days, 
or  perhaps  longer,  says  he,  an'  you  'd  better  kape  it, 
says  he." 

"Keep  what,  Kitty?  What  was  it  he  wanted  her  to 
keep  ?  "  said  Mr.  Gridley,  who  no  longer  doubted  that  he 
was  on  the  trail  of  a  plot,  and  meant  to  follow  it.  He  was 
getting  impatient  with  the  "  says  he's  "  with  which  Kitty 
double-leaded  her  discourse. 

"  An'  to  be  sure  ain't  I  tellin'  you,  Mr.  Gridley,  jist  as 
fast  as  my  breath  will  let  me  ?  An'  so,  says  he,  you  'd  bet 
ter  kape  it,  says  he,  mixed  up  with  your  other  paapers, 
says  he,"  (Mr.  Gridley  started,)  "  an'  thin  we  can  find  it  in 
the  garret,  says  he,  whinever  we  want  it,  says  he.  An'  if 
it  ahl  goes  right  out  there,  says  he,  it  won't  be  lahng  before 
we  shall  want  to  find  it,  says  he.  And  I  can  dipind  on 
you,  says  he,  for  we  're  both  in  the  same  boat,  says  he,  an* 
you  knows  what  I  knows,  says  he,  an'  I  knows  what  you 
knows,  says  he.  And  thin  he  taks  a  stack  o'  papers  out 
of  his  pocket,  an'  he  pulls  out  one  of  'em,  an'  he  says  to 
her,  says  he,  that 's  the  paper,  says  he,  an'  if  you  die,  says 
he,  niver  lose  sight  of  that  day  or  night,  says  he,  for  it 's  life 
an'  dith  to  both  of  us,  says  he.  An'  thin  he  asks  her  if 
she  has  n't  got  one  o'  them  paapers  —  what  is  't  they  cahls 
'em? — divilops,  or  some  sich  kind  of  a  name  —  that  they 
wraps  up  their  letters  in  ;  an'  she  says  no,  she  has  n't  got 
none  that 's  big  enough  to  hold  it.  So  he  says,  give  me  a 
shate  o'  paaper,  says  he.  An'  thin  he  takes  the  paaper 
that  she  give  him,  an'  he  folds  it  up  like  one  o'  them  —  di 
vilops,  if  that 's  the  name  of  'em ;  and  thin  he  pulls  a  stick 
o'  salin'-wax  out  of  his  pocket,  an'  a  stamp,  an'  he  takes  the 
paaper  an'  puts  it  into  th'  other  paaper,  along  with  the 
rest  of  the  paapers,  an'  thin  he  folds  th'  other  pauper  over 


336  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  paapers,  and  thin  he  lights  a  candle,  an'  he  milts  the 
salin'-wax,  and  he  sales  up  the  paaper  that  was  outside  th' 
other  paapers,  an'  he  writes  on  the  back  of  the  paaper,  an' 
thin  he  hands  it  to  Miss  Badlam." 

"  Did  you  see  the  paper  that  he  showed  her  before  he 
fastened  it  up  with  the  others,  Kitty  ?  " 

"  I  did  see  it,  indade,  Mr.  Gridley,  and  it 's  the  truth 
I  'm  tellin'  ye." 

"  Did  you  happen  to  notice  anything  about  it,  Kitty." 

"  I  did,  indade,  Mr.  Gridley.  It  was  a  longish  kind  of 
a  paaper,  and  there  was  some  blotches  of  ink  on  the  back 
of  it,  —  an'  they  looked  like  a  face  without  any  mouth,  for, 
says  I,  there  's  two  spots  for  the  eyes,  says  I,  and  there  's 
a  spot  for  the  nose,  says  I,  and  there  's  niver  a  spot  for  the 
mouth,  says  I." 

This  was  the  substance  of  what  Master  Byles  Gridley 
got  out  of  Kitty  Fagan.  It  was  enough,  —  yes,  it  was  too 
much.  There  was  some  deep-laid  plot  between  Murray 
Bradshaw  and  Cynthia  Badlam,  involving  the  interests  of 
some  of  the  persons  connected  with  the  late  Malachi  With 
ers  ;  for  that  the  paper  described  by  Kitty  was  the  same 
that  he  had  seen  the  young  man  conceal  in  the  Corpus 
Juris  Civilis,  it  was  impossible  to  doubt.  If  it  had  been  a 
single  spot  on  the  back  of  it,  or  two,  he  might  have  doubted. 
But  three  large  spots  —  "  blotches  "  she  had  called  them, 
disposed  thus  •.•  —  would  not  have  happened  to  be  on  two 
different  papers,  in  all  human  probability. 

After  grave  consultation  of  all  his  mental  faculties  in 
committee  of  the  whole,  he  arrived  at  the  following  conclu 
sion,  —  that  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam  was  the  depositary  of  a 
secret  involving  interests  which  he  felt  it  his  business  to 
defend,  and  of  a  document  which  was  fraudulently  with- 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  337 

held  and  meant  to  be  used  for  some  unfair  purpose.  And 
most  assuredly,  Master  Gridley  said  to  himself,  he  held  a 
master-key,  which,  just  so  certainly  as  he  could  make  up 
his  mind  to  use  it,  would  open  any  secret  in  the  keeping 
of  Miss  Cynthia  Badlarn. 

He  proceeded,  therefore,  without  delay,  to  get  ready  for 
a  visit  to  that  lady,  at  The  Poplars.  He  meant  to  go 
thoroughly  armed,  for  he  was  a  very  provident  old  gentle 
man.  His  weapons  were  not  exactly  of  the  kind  which  a 
housebreaker  would  provide  himself  with,  but  of  a  some 
what  peculiar  nature. 

Weapon  number  one  was  a  slip  of  paper  with  a  date  and 
a  few  words  written  upon  it.  "  I  think  this  will  fetch  the 
document,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  if  it  comes  to  the  worst. 
Not  if  I  can  help  it,  —  not  if  I  can  help  it.  But  if  I  can 
not  get  at  the  heart  of  this  thing  otherwise,  why,  I  must 
come  to  this.  Poor  woman  !  —  Poor  woman  !  " 

Weapon  number  two  was  a  small  phial  containing  spirits 
of  hartshorn,  sal  volatile,  very  strong,  that  would  stab 
through  the  nostrils,  like  a  stiletto,  deep  into  the  gray  ker 
nels  that  lie  in  the  core  of  the  brain.  Excellent  in  cases 
of  sudden  syncope  or  fainting,  such  as  sometimes  require 
the  opening  of  windows,  the  dashing  on  of  cold  water,  the 
cutting  of  stays,  perhaps,  with  a  scene  of  more  or  less  tu 
multuous  perturbation  and  afflux  of  clamorous  womanhood. 

So  armed,  Byles  Gridley,  A.  M.,  champion  of  unpro 
tected  innocence,  grasped  his  ivory-handled  cane  and  sal 
lied  forth  on  his  way  to  The  Poplars. 


15 


338  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL, 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

MASTER   BYLES  GRIDLEY  CALLS  ON  MISS  CYNTHIA  BADLAM. 

MISS  CYNTHIA  BADLAM  was  seated  in  a  small 
parlor  which  she  was  accustomed  to  consider  her 
own  during  her  long  residences  at  The  Poplars.  The 
entry  stove  warmed  it  but  imperfectly,  and  she  looked 
pinched  and  cold,  for  the  evenings  were  still  pretty  sharp, 
and  the  old  house  let  in  the  chill  blasts,  as  old  houses  are 
in  the  habit  of  doing.  She  was  sitting  at  her  table,  with  a 
little  trunk  open  before  her.  She  had  taken  some  papers 
from  it,  which  she  was  looking  over,  when  a  knock  at  her 
door  announced  a  visitor,  and  Master  Byles  Gridley 
entered  the  parlor. 

As  he  came  into  the  room,  she  gathered  the  papers  to 
gether  and  replaced  them  in  the  trunk,  which  she  locked, 
throwing  an  unfinished  piece  of  needle-work  over  it,  putting 
the  key  in  her  pocket,  and  gathering  herself  up  for  com 
pany.  Something  of  all  this  Master  Gridley  saw  through 
his  round  spectacles,  but  seemed  not  to  see,  and  took  his 
seat  like  a  visitor  making  a  call  of  politeness. 

A  visitor  at  such  an  hour,  of  the  male  sex,  without 
special  provocation,  without  social  pretext,  was  an  event 
in  the  life  of  the  desolate  spinster.  Could  it  be  —  No, 
it  could  not  —  and  yet  —  and  yet!  Miss  Cynthia  threw 
back  the  rather  common-looking  but  comfortable  shawl 
which  covered  her  shoulders,  and  showed  her  quite  pre 
sentable  figure,  arrayed  with  a  still  lingering  thought  of 
that  remote  contingency  which  might  yet  offer  itself  at 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  339 

some  unexpected  moment ;  she  adjusted  the  carefully 
plaited  cap,  which  was  not  yet  of  the  lasciate  ogni  speranza 
pattern,  and  as  she  obeyed  these  instincts  of  her  sex,  she 
smiled  a  welcome  to  the  respectable,  learned,  and  inde 
pendent  bachelor.  Mr.  Gridley  had  a  frosty  but  kindly 
age  before  him,  with  a  score  or  so  of  years  to  run,  which 
it  was  after  all  not  strange  to  fancy  might  be  rendered 
more  cheerful  by  the  companionship  of  a  wrell-conscrved 
and  amiably  disposed  woman,  —  if  any  such  should  hap 
pen  to  fall  in  his  way. 

That  smile  came  very  near  disconcerting  the  plot  of 
Master  Byles  Gridley.  He  had  come  on  an  inquisitor's 
errand,  his  heart  secure,  as  he  thought,  against  all  blan 
dishments,  his  will  steeled  to  break  down  all  resistance.  He 
had  come  armed  with  an  instrument  of  torture  worse  than 
the  thumb-screw,  worse  than  the  pulleys  which  attempt 
the  miracle  of  adding  a  cubit  to  the  stature,  worse  than  the 
brazier  of  live  coals  brought  close  to  the  naked  soles  of 
the  feet,  —  an  instrument  which,  instead  of  trifling  with 
the  nerves,  would  clutch  all  the  nerve-centres  and  the 
heart  itself  in  its  gripe,  and  hold  them  until  it  got  its  an 
swer,  if  the  white  lips  had  life  enough  left  to  shape  one. 
And  here  was  this  unfortunate  maiden  lady  smiling  at 
him,  setting  her  limited  attractions  in  their  best  light, 
pleading  with  him  in  that  natural  language  which  makes 
any  contumacious  bachelor  feel  as  guilty  as  Cain  before 
any  single  woman.  If  Mr.  Gridley  had  been  alone,  he 
would  have  taken  a  good  sniff  at  his  own  bottle  of  sal  vol 
atile  ;  for  his  kind  heart  sunk  within  him  as  he  thought 
of  the  errand  upon  which  he  had  come.  It  would  not  do 
to  leave  the  subject  of  his  vivisection  under  any  illusion 
as  to  the  nature  of  his  designs. 


340  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  Good  evening,  Miss  Badlam,"  he  said,  "  I  have  come 
to  visit  you  on  a  matter  of  business." 

What  was  the  internal  panorama  which  had  unrolled 
itself  at  the  instant  of  his  entrance,  and  which  rolled  up 
as  suddenly  at  the  sound  of  his  serious  voice  and  the  look 
of  his  grave  features  ?  It  cannot  be  reproduced,  though 
pages  were  given  to  it ;  for  some  of  the  pictures  were 
near,  and  some  were  distant ;  some  were  clearly  seen,  and 
some  were  only  hinted ;  some  were  not  recognized  in  the 
intellect  at  all,  and  yet  they  were  implied,  as  it  were,  be 
hind  the  others.  Many  times  we  have  all  found  ourselves 
glad  or  sorry,  and  yet  we  could  not  tell  what  thought  it 
was  that  reflected  the  sunbeam  or  cast  the  shadow.  Look 
into  Cynthia's  suddenly  exalted  consciousness  and  see  the 
picture,  actual  and  potential,  unroll  itself  in  all  its  details 
of  the  natural,  the  ridiculous,  the  selfish,  the  pitiful,  the 
human.  Glimpses,  hints,  echoes,  suggestions,  involving 
tender  sentiments  hitherto  unknown,  we  may  suppose,  to 
that  unclaimed  sister's  breast,  —  pleasant  excitement  of 
receiving  congratulations  from  suddenly  cordial  friends ; 
the  fussy  delights  of  buying  furniture  and  shopping  for 
new  dresses,  —  (it  seemed  as  if  she  could  hear  herself 
saying,  "  Heavy  silks,  —  best  goods,  if  you  please,")  —  with 
delectable  thumping  down  of  flat-sided  pieces  of  calico, 
cambric,  "  rep,"  and  other  stuffs,  and  rhythmic  evolution 
of  measured  yards,  followed  by  sharp  snip  of  scissors,  and 
that  cry  of  rending  tissues  dearer  to  woman's  ear  than  any 
earthly  sound  until  she  hears  the  voice  of  her  own  first 
born, —  (much  of  this  potentially,  remember,)  —  thoughts 
of  a  comfortable  settlement,  an  imposing  social  condition,  a 
cheerful  household,  and  by  and  by  an  Indian  summer  of 
serene  widowhood,  —  all  these,  and  infinite  other  involved 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  341 

possibilities  had  mapped  themselves  in  one  long  swift  flash 
before  Cynthia's  inward  eye,  and  all  vanished  as  the  old 
man  spoke  those  few  words.  The  look  on  his  face,  and 
the  tone  of  his  cold  speech,  had  instantly  swept  them  all 
away,  like  a  tea-set  sliding  in  a  single  crash  from  a  slip 
pery  tray. 

What  could  be  the  "  business  "  on  which  he  had  come 
to  her  with  that  solemn  face?  she  asked  herself,  as  she 
returned  his  greeting  and  offered  him  a  chair.  She  was 
conscious  of  a  slight  tremor  as  she  put  this  question  to  her 
own  intelligence. 

"  Are  we  like  to  be  alone  and  undisturbed  ?  "  Mr.  Grid- 
ley  asked.  It  was  a  strange  question,  —  men  do  act 
strangely  sometimes.  She  hardly  knew  whether  to  turn 
red  or  white. 

"  Yes,  there  is  nobody  like  to  come  in  at  present,"  she 
answered.  She  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  What 
was  coming  next,  —  a  declaration,  or  an  accusation  of 
murder  ? 

"  My  business,"  Mr.  Gridley  said,  very  gravely,  "  re 
lates  to  this.  I  wish  to  inspect  papers  which  I  have  reason 
to  believe  exist,  and  which  have  reference  to  the  affairs  of 
the  late  Malachi  Withers.  Can  you  help  me  to  get  sight 
of  any  of  these  papers  not  to  be  found  at  the  Registry  of 
Deeds  or  the  Probate  Office?" 

"  Excuse  me,  Mr.  Gridley,  but  may  I  ask  you  what 
particular  concern  you  have  with  the  affairs  of  my  rela 
tive,  Cousin  Malachi  Withers,  that 's  been  dead  and  buried 
these  half-dozen  years  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  it  would  take  some  time  to  answer  that  ques 
tion  fully,  Miss  Badlam.  Some  of  these  affairs  do  con 
cern  those  I  am  interested  in,  if  not  myself  directly." 


842  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  May  I  ask  who  the  person  or  persons  may  be  on 
whose  account  you  wish  to  look  at  papers  belonging  to  my 
late  relative,  Malachi  Withers  ?  " 

"  You  can  ask  me  almost  anything,  Miss  Badlam,  but  I 
should  really  be  very  much  obliged  if  you  would  answer 
my  question  first.  Can  you  help  me  to  get  a  sight  of  any 
papers  relating  to  the  estate  of  Malachi  Withers,  not  to 
be  found  at  the  Registry  of  Deeds  or  the  Probate  Office,  — 
any  of  which  you  may  happen  to  have  any  private  and 
particular  knowledge  ?  " 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Gridley  ;  but  I  don't  under 
stand  why  you  come  to  me  with  such  questions.  Lawyer 
Penhallow  is  the  proper  person,  I  should  think,  to  go  to. 
He  and  his  partner  that  was  —  Mr.  Wibird,  you  know  — 
settled  the  estate,  and  he  has  got  the  papers,  I  suppose, 
if 'there  are  any,  that  ain't  to  be  found  in  the  offices  you 
mention." 

Mr.  Gridley  moved  his  chair  a  little,  so  as  to  bring  Miss 
Badlam's  face  a  little  more  squarely  in  view. 

"  Does  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  know  anything 
about  any  papers,  such  as  I  am  referring  to,  that  may 
have  been  sent  to  the  office  ? " 

The  lady  felt  a  little  moisture  stealing  through  all  her 
pores,  and  at  the  same  time  a  certain  dryness  of  the  vocal 
organs,  so  that  her  answer  came  in  a  slightly  altered  tone 
which  neither  of  them  could  help  noticing. 

"  You  had  better  ask  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw 
yourself  about  that,"  she  answered.  She  felt  the  hook 
now,  and  her  spines  were  rising,  partly  with  apprehension, 
partly  with  irritation. 

"  Has  that  young  gentleman  ever  delivered  into  your 
hands  any  papers  relating  to  the  affairs  of  the  late  Malachi 
Withers,  for  your  safe  keeping  ?  " 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  343 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  asking  me  these  questions,  Mr. 
Gridley  ?  I  don't  choose  to  be  catechised  about  Murray 
Bradshaw's  business.  Go  to  him,  if  you  please,  if  you 
want  to  find  out  about  it." 

"  Excuse  my  persistence,  Miss  Badlam,  but  I  must  pre 
vail  upon  you  to  answer  my  question.  Has  Mr.  William 
Murray  Bradshaw  ever  delivered  into  your  hands  any  pa 
pers  relating  to  the  affairs  of  the  late  Malachi  Withers,  for 
your  safe  keeping  ?  " 

"  Do  you  suppose  I  am  going  to  answer  such  questions 
as  you  are  putting  me  because  you  repeat  them  over,  Mr. 
Gridley  ?  Indeed  I  sha'n't.  Ask  him,  if  you  please,  what 
ever  you  wish  to  know  about  his  doings." 

She  drew  herself  up  and  looked  savagely  at  him.  She 
had  talked  herself  into  her  courage.  There  was  a  color 
in  her  cheeks  and  a  sparkle  in  her  eye ;  she  looked  dan 
gerous  as  a  cobra. 

"Miss  Cynthia  Badlam,"  Master  Gridley  said,  very 
deliberately,  "  I  am  afraid  we  do  not  entirely  understand 
each  other.  You  must  answer  my  question  precisely,  cat 
egorically,  point-blank,  and  on  the  instant.  Will  you  do 
this  at  once,  or  will  you  compel  me  to  show  you  the  abso 
lute  necessity  of  your  doing  it,  at  the  expense  of  pain  to 
both  of  us  ?  Six  words  from  me  will  make  you  answer  all 
my  questions." 

"  You  can't  say  six  words,  nor  sixty,  Mr.  Gridley,  that 
will  make  me  answer  one  question  I  do  not  choose  to.  I 
defy  you ! " 

"  I  will  not  say  one,  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam.  There  are 
some  things  one  does  not  like  to  speak  in  words.  But  I 
will  show  you  a  scrap  of  paper,  containing  just  six  words 
and  a  date,  —  not  one  word  more  nor  one  less.  You  shall 


344  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

read  them.  Then  I  will  burn  the  paper  in  the  fiame  of 
your  lamp.  As  soon  after  that  as  you  feel  ready,  I  will 
ask  the  same  question  again." 

Master  Gridley  took  out  from  his  pocket-book  a  scrap 
of  paper,  and  handed  it  to  Cynthia  Badlam.  Her  hand 
shook  as  she  received  it,  for  she  was  frightened  as  well  as 
enraged,  and  she  saw  that  Mr.  Gridley  was  in  earnest  and 
knew  what  he  was  doing. 

She  read  the  six  words,  he  looking  at  her  steadily  all  the 
time,  and  watching  her  as  if  he  had  just  given  her  a  drop 
of  prussic  acid. 

No  cry.  No  sound  from  her  lips.  She  stared  as  if  half 
stunned  for  one  moment,  then  turned  her  head  and  glared 
at  Mr.  Gridley  as  if  she  would  have  murdered  him  if  she 
dared.  In  another  instant  her  face  whitened,  the  scrap  of 
paper  fluttered  to  the  floor,  and  she  would  have  followed  it 
but  for  the  support  of  both  Mr.  Gridley's  arms.  He  dis 
engaged  one  of  them  presently,  and  felt  in  his  pocket  for 
the  sal  volatile.  It  served  him  excellently  well,  and  stung 
her  back  again  to  her  senses  very  quickly.  All  her  defiant 
aspect  had  gone. 

"  Look !  "  he  said,  as  he  lighted  the  scrap  of  paper  in 
the  flame.  "  You  understand  me,  and  you  see  that  I  must 
be  answered  the  next  time  I  ask  my  question." 

She  opened  her  lips  as  if  to  speak.  It  was  as  when  a 
bell  is  rung  in  a  vacuum,  —  no  words  came  from  them,  — 
only  a  faint  gasping  sound,  an  effort  at  speech.  She  was 
caught  tight  in  the  heart-screw. 

"  Don't  hurry  yourself,  Miss  Cynthia,"  he  said,  with 
a  certain  relenting  tenderness  of  manner.  "  Here,  take 
another  sniff  of  the  smelling-salts.  Be  calm,  be  quiet,  —  I 
am  well  disposed  towards  you,  —  I  don't  like  to  give  you 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  3-15 

trouble.     There,  now,  I  must  have  the  answer  to   that 
question  ;  but  take  your  time,  —  take  your  time." 

"  Give  me  some  water,  —  some  water !  "  she  said,  in  a 
strange  hoarse  whisper.  There  was  a  pitcher  of  water 
and  a  tumbler  on  an  old  marble  sideboard  near  by.  He 
filled  the  tumbler,  and  Cynthia  emptied  it  as  if  she  hac? 
just  been  taken  from  the  rack,  and  could  have  swallowed  a 
bucketful. 

"  What  do  you  want  to  know  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  wish  to  know  all  that  you  can  tell  me  about  a  certain 
paper,  or  certain  papers,  which  I  have  reason  to  believe 
Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  committed  to  your  keep 
ing." 

"  There  is  only  one  paper  of  any  consequence.  Do  you 
want  to  make  him  kill  me  ?  or  do  you  want  to  make  me 
kill  myself?" 

"  Neither,  Miss  Cynthia,  neither.  I  wish  to  see  that  pa 
per,  but  not  for  any  bad  purpose.  Don't  you  think,  on  the 
whole,  you  have  pretty  good  reason  to  trust  me  ?  I  am  a 
very  quiet  man,  Miss  Cynthia.  Don't  be  afraid  of  me ; 
only  do  what  I  ask,  —  it  will  be  a  great  deal  better  for  you 
in  the  end." 

She  thrust  her  trembling  hand  into  her  pocket,  and  took 
out  the  key  of  the  little  trunk.  She  drew  the  trunk  to 
wards  her,  put  the  key  in  the  lock,  and  opened  it.  It 
seemed  like  pressing  a  knife  into  her  own  bosom  and  turn 
ing  the  blade.  That  little  trunk  held  all  the  records  of  her 
life  the  forlorn  spinster  most  cherished  ;  —  a  few  letters 
that  came  nearer  to  love-letters  than  any  others  she  had 
ever  received  ;  an  album,  with  flowers  of  the  summers  of 
1840  and  1841  fading  between  its  leaves  ;  two  papers  con 
taining  locks  of  hair,  half  of  a  broken  ring,  and  other  insig- 
15* 


346  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

nificant  mementos  which  had  their  meaning,  doubtless,  to 
her,  —  such  a  collection  as  is  often  priceless  to  one  human 
heart,  and  passed  by  as  worthless  in  the  auctioneer's  inven 
tory.  She  took  the  papers  out  mechanically,  and  laid 
them  on  the  table.  Among  them  was  an  oblong  packet, 
sealed  with  what  appeared  to  be  the  office-seal  of  Messrs. 
Penhallow  and  Bradshaw. 

"  Will  you  allow  me  to  take  that  envelope  containing 
papers,  Miss  Badlam  ?  "  Mr.  Gridley  asked,  with  a  suavity 
and  courtesy  in  his  tone  and  manner  that  showed  how  he 
felt  for  her  sex  and  her  helpless  position. 

She  seemed  to  obey  his  will  as  if  she  had  none  of  her 
own  left.  She  passed  the  envelope  to  him,  and  stared  at 
him  vacantly  while  he  examined  it.  He  read  on  the  back 
of  the  package  :  "  Withers  Estate  —  old  papers  —  of  no 
importance  apparently.  Examine  hereafter." 

"  May  I  ask  when,  where,  and  of  whom  you  obtained 
these  papers,  Miss  Badlam  ?  " 

"  Have  pity  on  me,  Mr.  Gridley,  —  have  pity  on  me. 
I  am  a  lost  woman  if  you  do  not.  Spare  me  !  for  God's 
Bake,  spare  me  !  There  will  no  wrong  come  of  all  this,  if 
you  will  but  wait  a  little  while.  The  paper  will  come  to 
light  when  it  is  wanted,  and  all  will  be  right.  But  do  not 
make  me  answer  any  more  questions,  and  let  me  keep  this 
paper.  0  Mr.  Gridley  !  I  am  in  the  power  of  a  dreadful 
man  —  " 

"  You  mean  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw  ?  " 

"  I  mean  him." 

"  Has  there  not  been  some  understanding  between  you 
that  he  should  become  the  approved  suitor  of  Miss  Myrtle 
Hazard?" 

Cynthia  wrung  her  hands  and  rocked  herself  backward 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  347 

and  forward  in  her  misery,  but  answered  not  a  word. 
What  could  she  answer,  if  she  had  plotted  with  this 
"  dreadful  man "  against  a  young  and  innocent  girl,  to 
deliver  her  over  into  his  hands,  at  the  risk  of  all  her 
earthly  hopes  and  happiness  ? 

Master  Gridley  waited  long  and  patiently  for  any  an 
swer  she  might  have  the  force  to  make.  As  she  made 
none,  he  took  upon  himself  to  settle  the  whole  matter 
without  further  torture  of  his  helpless  victim. 

"  This  package  must  go  into  the  hands  of  the  parties  who 
had  the  settlement  of  the  estate  of  the  late  Malachi  With 
ers.  Mr.  Penhallow  is  the  survivor  of  the  two  gentlemen 
to  whom  that  business  was  intrusted.  How  long  is  Mr. 
William  Murray  Bradshaw  like  to  be  away  ?  " 

'*  Perhaps  a  few  days,  —  perhaps  weeks,  —  and  then  he 
will  come  back  and  kill  me,  —  or  —  or  —  worse!  Don't 
take  that  paper,  Mr.  Gridley,  —  he  is  n't  like  you !  you 
would  n't  —  but  he  would  —  he  would  send  me  to  everlast 
ing  misery  to  gain  his  own  end,  or  to  save  himself.  And 
yet  he  is  n't  every  way  bad,  and  if  he  did  marry  Myrtle 
she  'd  think  there  never  was  such  a  man,  —  for  he  can  talk 
her  heart  out  of  her,  and  the  wicked  in  him  lies  very  deep 
and  won't  ever  come  out,  perhaps,  if  the  world  goes  right 
•with  him."  The  last  part  of  this  sentence  showed  how  Cyn 
thia  talked  with  her  own  conscience  ;  all  her  mental  and 
moral  machinery  lay  open  before  the  calm  eyes  of  Master 
Byles  Gridley. 

His  thoughts  wandered  a  moment  from  the  business  be 
fore  him  ;  he  had  just  got  a  new  study  of  human  nature, 
which  in  spite  of  himself  would  be  shaping  itself  into  an 
axiom  for  an  imagined  new  edition  of  "  Thoughts  on  the 
Universe," — something  like  this, —  The  greatest  saint 


3-18  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

may  be  a  sinner  that  never  got  down  to  "  hard  pan"  It 
was  not  the  time  to  be  framing  axioms. 

"  Poh !  poh  ! "  he  said  to  himself;  "  what  are  you  about, 
making  phrases,  when  you  have  got  a  piece  of  work  like 
this  in  hand  ? "  Then  to  Cynthia,  with  great  gentleness 
and  kindness  of  manner :  "  Have  no  fear  about  any  conse 
quences  to  yourself.  Mr.  Penhallow  must  see  that  paper, 
—  I  mean  those  papers.  You  shall  not  be  a  loser  nor  a 
sufferer  if  you  do  your  duty  now  in  these  premises." 

Master  Gridley,  treating  her,  as  far  as  circumstances  per 
mitted,  like  a  gentleman,  had  shown  no  intention  of  taking 
the  papers  either  stealthily  or  violently.  It  must  be  with 
her  consent.  He  had  laid  the  package  down  upon  the 
table,  waiting  for  her  to  give  him  leave  to  take  it.  But 
just  as  he  spoke  these  last  words,  Cynthia,  whose  eye  had 
been  glancing  furtively  at  it  while  he  was  thinking  out  his 
axiom,  and  taking  her  bearings  to  it  pretty  carefully, 
stretched  her  hand  out,  and,  seizing  the  package,  thrust  it 
into  the  sanctuary  of  her  bosom. 

"  Mr.  Penhallow  must  see  those  papers,  Miss  Cynthia 
Badlam,"  Mr.  Gridley  repeated  calmly.  "  If  he  eays  they 
or  any  of  them  can  be  returned  to  your  keeping,  well  and 
good.  But  see  them  he  must,  for  they  have  his  office  seal 
and  belong  in  his  custody,  and,  as  you  see  by  the  writing 
on  the  back,  they  have  not  been  examined.  Now  there 
may  be  something  among  them  which  is  of  immediate  im 
portance  to  the  relatives  of  the  late  deceased  Malachi 
Withers,  and  therefore  they  must  be  forthwith  submitted  to 
the  inspection  of  the  surviving  partner  of  the  firm  of 
Wibird  and  Penhallow.  This  I  propose  to  do,  with  your 
consent,  this  evening.  It  is  now  twenty-five  minutes  past 
eight  by  the  true  time,  as  my  watch  has  it.  At  half  past. 


THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  349 

eight  exactly  I  shall  have  the  honor  of  bidding  you  good 
evening,  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam,  whether  you  give  me  those 
papers  or  not.  I  shall  go  to  the  office  of  Jacob  Penhallow, 
Esquire,  and  there  make  one  of  two  communications  to 
him  ;  to  wit,  these  papers  and  the  facts  connected  there 
with,  or  another  statement,  the  nature  of  which  you  may 
perhaps  conjecture." 

There  is  no  need  of  our  speculating  as  to  what  Mr.  Byles 
Gridley,  an  honorable  and  humane  man,  would  have  done, 
or  what  would  have  been  the  nature  of  that  communication 
which  he  offered  as  an  alternative  to  the  perplexed  woman. 
He  had  not  at  any  rate  miscalculated  the  strength  of  his 
appeal,  which  Cynthia  interpreted  as  he  expected.  She 
bore  the  heart-screw  about  two  minutes.  Then  she  took 
the  package  from  her  bosom,  and  gave  it  with  averted 
face  to  Master  Byles  Gridley,  who,  on  receiving  it,  made 
her  a  formal  but  not  unkindly  bow,  and  bade  her  good 
evening. 

"  One  would  think  it  had  been  lying  out  in  the  dew," 
lie  said,  as  he  left  the  house  and  walked  towards  Mr. 
Penhallow's  residence. 


350  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

"MASTER    BYLES    GRIDLEY    CONSULTS    WITH    JACOB    PEN- 
HALLOW,    ESQUIRE. 

LAWYER  PENHALLOW  was  seated  in  his  study, 
his  day's  work  over,  his  feet  in  slippers,  after  the 
comfortable  but  inelegant  fashion  which  Sir  Walter  Scott 
reprobates,  amusing  himself  with  a  volume  of  old  Reports. 
He  was  a  knowing  man  enough,  a  keen  country  lawyer, 
but  honest,  and  therefore  less  ready  to  suspect  the  honesty 
of  others.  He  had  a  great  belief  in  his  young  partner's 
ability,  and,  though  he  knew  him  to  be  astute,  did  not  think 
him  capable  of  roguery. 

It  was  at  his  request  that  Mr.  Bradshaw  had  under 
taken  his  journey,  which,  as  he  believed,  —  and  as  Mr. 
Bradshaw  had  still  stronger  evidence  of  a  strictly  confiden 
tial  nature  which  led  him  to  feel  sure,  —  would  end  in  the 
final  settlement  of  the  great  land  claim  in  favor  of  their 
client.  The  case  had  been  dragging  along  from  year  to 
year,  like  an  English  chancery  suit ;  and  while  courts  and 
lawyers  and  witnesses  had  been  sleeping,  the  property  had 
been  steadily  growing.  A  railroad  had  passed  close  to 
one  margin  of  the  township,  some  mines  had  been  opened 
in  the  county,  in  which  a  village  calling  itself  a  city  had 
grown  big  enough  to  have  a  newspaper  and  Fourth  of  July 
orations.  It  was  plain  that  the  successful  issue  of  the  long 
process  would  make  the  heirs  of  the  late  Malachi  Withers 
possessors  of  an  ample  fortune,  and  it  was  also  plain  that 
the  firm  of  Penhallow  and  Bradshaw  were  like  to  receive, 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  351 

in  such  case,  the  largest  fee  that  had  gladdened  the  profes 
sional  existence  of  its  member?. 

Mr.  Penhallow  had  his  book  open  before  him,  but  his 
thoughts  were  wandering  from  the  page.  He  was  think 
ing  of  his  absent  partner,  and  the  probable  results  of  his 
expedition.  What  would  be  the  consequence  if  all  this 
property  came  into  the  possession  of  Silence  Withers  ? 
Could  she  have  any  liberal  intentions  with  reference  to 
Myrtle  Hazard,  the  young  girl  who  had  grown  up  with 
her,  or  was  the  common  impression  true,  that  she  was  bent 
on  endowing  an  institution,  and  thus  securing  for  herself  a 
favorable  consideration  in  the  higher  courts,  where  her 
beneficiaries  would  be,  it  might  be  supposed,  influential  ad 
vocates  ?  He  could  not  help  thinking  that  Mr.  Bradshaw 
believed  that  Myrtle  Hazard  would  eventually  come  to  a 
part  at  least  of  this  inheritance.  For  the  story  was,  that 
he  was  paying  his  court  to  the  young  lady  whenever  he 
got  an  opportunity,  and  that  he  was  cultivating  an  intimacy 
with  Miss  Cynthia  Badlam.  "  Bradshaw  would  n't  make 
a  move  in  that  direction,"  Mr.  Penhallow  said  to  himself, 
"  until  he  felt  pretty  sure  that  it  was  going  to  be  a  paying 
business.  If  he  was  only  a  young  minister  now,  there  'd 
be  no  difficulty  about  it.  Let  any  man,  young  or  old,  in  a 
clerical  white  cravat,  step  up  to  Myrtle  Hazard,  and  ask 
her  to  be  miserable  in  his  company  through  this  wretched 
life,  and  Aunt  Silence  would  very  likely  give  them  her 
blessing,  and  add  something  to  it  that  the  man  in  the 
white  cravat  would  think  worth  even  more  than  that  was. 
But  I  don't  know  what  she  '11  say  to  Bradshaw.  Per 
haps  he  'd  better  have  a  hint  to  go  to  meeting  a  little  more 
regularly.  However,  I  suppose  he  knows  what  he 's 
about." 


352  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

He  was  thinking  all  this  over  when  a  visitor  was  an 
nounced,  and  Mr.  Byles  Gridley  entered  the  study. 

"  Good  evening,  Mr.  Penhallow,"  Mr.  Gridley  said,  wip 
ing  his  forehead.  "  Quite  warm,  is  n't  it,  this  evening  ?  " 

"  Warm  ! "  said  Mr.  Penhallow,  "  I  should  think  it 
would  freeze  pretty  thick  to-night.  I  should  have  asked 
you  to  come  up  to  the  fire  and  warm  yourself.  But  take 
off  your  coat,  Mr.  Gridley,  —  very  glad  to  see  you.  You 
don't  come  to  the  house  half  as  often  as  you  come  to  the 
office.  Sit  down,  sit  down." 

Mr.  Gridley  took  off  his  outside  coat  and  sat  down. 
"  He  does  look  warm,  does  n't  he  ? "  Mr.  Penhallow 
thought.  "  Wonder  what  has  heated  up  the  old  gentle 
man  so.  Find  out  quick  enough,  for  he  always  goes 
straight  to  business." 

"  Mr.  Penhallow,"  Mr.  Gridley  began  at  once,  "  I  have 
come  on  a  very  grave  matter,  in  which  you  are  interested 
as  well  as  myself,  and  I  wish  to  lay  the  whole  of  it  before 
you  as  explicitly  as  I  can,  so  that  we  may  settle  this  night 
before  I  go  what  is  to  be  done.  I  am  afraid  the  good  stand 
ing  of  your  partner,  Mr.  William  Murray  Bradshaw,  is 
concerned  in  the  matter.  Would  it  be  a  surprise  to  you,  if 
he  had  carried  his  acuteness  in  some  particular  case  like 
the  one  I  am  to  mention  beyond  the  prescribed  limits  ?  " 

The  question  was  put  so  diplomatically  that  there  was 
no  chance  for  an  indignant  denial  of  the  possibility  of  Mr. 
Bradshaw's  being  involved  in  any  discreditable  transaction. 

"  It  is  possible,"  he  answered,  "  that  Bradshaw's  keen 
wits  may  have  betrayed  him  into  sharper  practice  than  I 
should  altogether  approve  in  any  business  we  carried  on 
together.  He  is  a  very  knowing  young  man,  but  I  can't 
think  he  is  foolish  enough,  to  say  nothing  of  his  honesty, 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  353 

to  make  any  false  step  of  the  kind  you  seem  to  hint.  I 
think  he  might  on  occasion  go  pretty  near  the  line,  but  I 
don't  believe  he  would  cross  it." 

"  Permit  me  a  few  questions,  Mr.  Penhallow.  You  set 
tled  the  estate  of  the  late  Malachi  Withers,  did  you  not  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Wibird  and  myself  settled  it  together." 

"  Have  you  received  any  papers  from  any  of  the  family 
since  the  settlement  of  the  estate  ?  " 

"  Let  me  see.  Yes ;  a  roll  of  old  plans  of  the  Withers 
Place,  and  so  forth,  —  not  of  much  use,  but  labelled  and 
kept.  An  old  trunk  with  letters  and  account-books,  some 
of  them  in  Dutch,  —  mere  curiosities.  A  year  ago  or 
more,  I  remember  that  Silence  sent  me  over  some  papers 
she  had  found  in  an  odd  corner,  —  the  old  man  hid  things 
like  a  magpie.  I  looked  over  most  of  them,  —  trumpery 
not  worth  keeping,  —  old  leases  and  so  forth." 

"  Do  you  recollect  giving  some  of  them  to  Mr.  Brad- 
shaw  to  look  over  ?  " 

"  Now  I  come  to  think  of  it,  I  believe  I  did  ;  but  he  re 
ported  to  me,  if  I  remember  right,  that  they  amounted  to 
nothing." 

"  If  any  of  those  papers  were  of  importance,  should  you 
think  your  junior  partner  ought  to  keep  them  from  your 
knowledge  ?  " 

"  I  need  not  answer  that  question,  Mr.  Gridley.  Will 
you  be  so  good  as  to  come  at  once  to  the  facts  on  which 
you  found  your  suspicions,  and  which  lead  you  to  put  these 
questions  to  me  ?  " 

Thereupon  Mr.  Gridley  proceeded  to  state  succinctly 
the  singular  behavior  of  Murray  Bradshaw  in  taking  one 
paper  from  a  number  handed  to  him  by  Mr.  Penhallow, 
and  concealing  it  in  a  volume.  He  related  how  he  was  just 

w 


854  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

on  the  point  of  taking  out  the  volume  which  contained  the 
paper,  when  Mr.  Bradshaw  entered  and  disconcerted  him. 
He  had,  however,  noticed  three  spots  on  the  paper  by 
which  he  should  know  it  anywhere.  He  then  repeated  the 
substance  of  Kitty  Pagan's  story,  accenting  the  fact  that 
she  too  noticed  three  remarkable  spots  on  the  paper  which 
Mr.  Bradshaw  had  pointed  out  to  Miss  Badlam  as  the  one 
so  important  to  both  of  them.  Here  he  rested  the  case  for 
the  moment. 

Mr.  Penhallow  looked  thoughtful.  There  was  some 
thing  questionable  in  the  aspect  of  this  business.  It  did 
obviously  suggest  the  idea  of  an  underhand  arrangement 
with  Miss  Cynthia,  possibly  involving  some  very  grave 
consequences.  It  would  have  been  most  desirable,  he  said, 
to  have  ascertained  what  these  papers,  or  rather  this  par 
ticular  paper,  to  which  so  much  importance  was  attached, 
amounted  to.  Without  that  knowledge  there  was  nothing, 
after  all,  which  it  might  not  be  possible  to  explain.  He 
might  have  laid  aside  the  spotted  paper  to  examine  for 
some  object  of  mere  curiosity.  It  was  certainly  odd  that 
the  one  the  Fagan  woman  had  seen  should  present  three 
spots  so  like  those  on  the  other  paper,  but  people  did  some 
times  throw  treys  at  backgammon,  and  that  which  not  rarely 
happened  with  two  dice  of  six  faces  might  happen  if  they 
had  sixty  or  six  hundred  faces.  On  the  whole,  he  did  not 
see  that  there  was  any  ground,  so  far,  for  anything  more 
than  a  vague  suspicion.  He  thought  it  not  unlikely  that 
Mr.  Bradshaw  was  a  little  smitten  with  the  young  lady  up 
at  The  Poplars,  and  that  he  had  made  some  diplomatic 
overtures  to  the  duenna,  after  the  approved  method  of  suit 
ors.  She  was  young  for  Bradshaw,  —  very  young,  —  but 
he  knew  his  own  affairs.  If  he  chose  to  make  love  to  a 


THE  GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  355 

child,  it  was  natural  enough  that  he  should  begin  by  court 
ing  her  nurse. 

Master  Byles  Gridley  lost  himself  for  half  a  minute  in 
a  most  discreditable  inward  discussion  as  to  whether  Laura 
Penhallow  was  probably  one  or  two  years  older  than  Mr. 
Bradshaw.  That  was  his  way,  —  he  could  not  help  it.  He 
could  not  think  of  anything  without  these  mental  paren 
theses.  But  he  came  back  to  business  at  the  end  of  his 
half-minute. 

"  I  can  lay  the  package  before  you  at  this  moment,  Mr. 
Penhallow.  I  have  induced  that  woman  in  whose  charge 
it  was  left  to  intrust  it  to  my  keeping,  with  the  express  in 
tention  of  showing  it  to  you.  But  it  is  protected  by  a  seal, 
as  I  have  told  you,  which  I  should  on  no  account  presume 
to  meddle  with." 

Mr.  Gridley  took  out  the  package  of  papers. 

"  How  damp  it  is  ! "  Mr.  Penhallow  said ;  "  must  have 
been  lying  in  some  very  moist  neighborhood." 

"  Very,"  Mr.  Gridley  answered,  with  a  peculiar  expres 
sion  which  said,  "  Never  mind  about  that." 

"  Did  the  party  give  you  possession  of  these  documents 
without  making  any  effort  to  retain  them  ? "  the  lawyer 
asked. 

"  Not  precisely.  It  cost  some  effort  to  induce  Miss  Bad- 
lam  to  let  them  go  out  of  her  hands.  I  hope  you  think  I 
was  justified  in  making  the  effort  I  did,  not  without  a  con 
siderable  strain  upon  my  feelings,  as  well  as  her  own,  to  get 
hold  of  the  papers  ?  " 

"  That  will  depend  something  on  what  the  papers  prove 
to  be,  Mr.  Gridley.  A  man  takes  a  certain  responsibility 
in  doing  just  what  you  have  done.  If,  for  instance,  it 
should  prove  that  this  envelope  contained  matters  relating 


356  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

solely  to  private  transactions  between  Mr.  Bradshaw  and 
Miss  Badlam,  concerning  no  one  but  themselves,  —  and  if 
the  words  on  the  back  of  the  envelope  and  the  seal  had 
been  put  there  merely  as  a  protection  for  a  package  con 
taining  private  papers  of  a  delicate  but  perfectly  legitimate 
character  —  " 

The  lawyer  paused,  as  careful  experts  do,  after  bending 
the  bow  of  an  hypothesis,  before  letting  the  arrow  go.  Mr. 
Gridley  felt  very  warm  indeed,  uncomfortably  so,  and  ap 
plied  his  handkerchief  to  his  face.  Could  n't  be  anything 
in  such  a  violent  supposition  as  that,  —  and  yet  such  a 
crafty  fellow  as  that  Bradshaw,  —  what  trick  was  he  not 
up  to  ?  Absurd  !  Cynthia  was  not  acting,  —  Rachel 
would  n't  be  equal  to  such  a  performance  !  —  "  why  then, 
Mr.  Gridley,"  the  lawyer  continued,  "  I  don't  see  but  what 
my  partner  would  have  you  at  an  advantage,  and,  if  dis 
posed  to  make  you  uncomfortable,  could  do  so  pretty  effec 
tively.  But  this,  you  understand,  is  only  a  supposed  case, 
and  not  a  very  likely  one.  I  don't  think  it  would  have 
been  prudent  in  you  to  meddle  with  that  seal.  But  it  is  a 
very  different  matter  with  regard  to  myself.  It  makes  no 
difference,  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  where  this  package 
came  from,  or  how  it  was  obtained.  It  is  just  as  absolutely 
within  my  control  as  any  piece  of  property  I  call  my  own. 
I  should  not  hesitate,  if  I  saw  fit,  to  break  this  seal  at  once, 
and  proceed  to  the  examination  of  any  papers  contained 
within  the  envelope.  If  I  found  any  paper  of  the  slightest 
importance  relating  to  the  estate,  I  should  act  as  if  it  had 
never  been  out  of  my  possession. 

"  Suppose,  however,  I  chose  to  know  what  was  in  the 
package,  and,  having  ascertained,  act  my  judgment  about 
returning  it  to  the  party  from  whom  you  obtained  it.  In 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  357 

such  case  I  might  see  fit  to  restore,  or  cause  it  to  be  restored, 
to  the  party,  without  any  marks  of  violence  having  been 
used  being  apparent.  If  everything  is  not  right,  probably 
no  questions  would  be  asked  by  the  party  having  charge  of 
the  package.  If  there  is  no  underhand  work  going  on,  and 
the  papers  are  what  they  profess  to  be,  nobody  is  compro 
mised  but  yourself,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  and  you  are  com 
promised  at  any  rate,  Mr.  Gridley,  at  least  in  the  good 
graces  of  the  party  from  whom  you  obtained  the  docu 
ments.  Tell  that  party  that  I  took  the  package  without 
opening  it,  and  shall  return  it,  very  likely,  without  break 
ing  the  seal.  Will  consider  of  the  matter,  say  a  couple  of 
days.  Then  you  shall  hear  from  me,  and  she  shall  hear 
from  you.  So.  So.  Yes,  that  's  it.  A  nice  business. 
A  thing  to  sleep  on.  You  had  better  leave  the  whole  mat 
ter  of  dealing  with  the  package  to  me.  If  I  see  fit  to  send 
it  back  with  the  seal  unbroken,  that  is  my  affair.  But 
keep  perfectly  quiet,  if  you  please,  Mr.  Gridley,  about  the 
whole  matter.  Mr.  Bradshavv  is  off,  as  you  know,  and  the 
business  on  which  he  is  gone  is  important,  —  very  impor 
tant.  He  can  be  depended  on  for  that ;  he  has  acted  all 
along  as  if  he  had  a  personal  interest  in  the  success  of  our 
firm  beyond  his  legal  relation  to  it." 

Mr.  Penhallow's  light  burned  very  late  in  the  office  that 
night,  and  the  following  one.  He  looked  troubled  and 
absent-minded,  and,  when  Miss  Laura  ventured  to  ask  him 
how  long  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  like  to  be  gone,  answered  her 
in  such  a  way  that  the  girl  who  waited  at  table  concluded 
that  he  did  n't  mean  to  have  Miss  Laury  keep  company 
with  Mr.  Bradshaw,  or  he  'd  never  have  spoke  so  dreadful 
hash  to  her  when  she  ahst  about  him. 


358  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 


A  DAY  or  two  after  Myrtle  Hazard  returned  to  the 
village,  Master  Byles  Gridley,  accompanied  by  Gifted 
Hopkins,  followed  her,  as  has  been  already  mentioned,  to 
the  same  scene  of  the  principal  events  of  this  narrative. 
The  young  man  had  been  persuaded  that  it  would  be  doing 
injustice  to  his  talents  to  crowd  their  fruit  prematurely 
upon  the  market.  He  carried  his  manuscript  back  with 
him,  having  relinquished  the  idea  of  publishing  for  the 
present.  Master  Byles  Gridley,  on  the  other  hand,  had  in 
his  pocket  a  very  flattering  proposal  from  the  same  pub 
lisher  to  whom  he  had  introduced  the  young  poet,  for  a 
new  and  revised  edition  of  his  work,  "  Thoughts  on  the 
Universe,"  which  was  to  be  remodelled  in  some  respects, 
and  to  have  a  new  title  not  quite  so  formidable  to  the 
average  reader. 

It  would  be  hardly  fair  to  Susan  Posey  to  describe  with 
what  delight  and  innocent  enthusiasm  she  welcomed  back 
Gifted  Hopkins.  She  had  been  so  lonely  since  he  was 
away  !  She  had  read  such  of  his  poems  as  she  possessed  — 
duplicates  of  his  printed  ones,  or  autographs  which  he  had 
kindly  written  out  for  her  —  over  and  over  again,  not  with 
out  the  sweet  tribute  of  feminine  sensibility,  which  is  the 
most  precious  of  all  testimonials  to  a  poet's  power  over  the 
heart.  True,  her  love  belonged  to  another, —  but  then 
she  was  so  used  to  Gifted !  She  did  so  love  to  hear  him 
read  his  poems,  —  and  Clement  had  never  written  that 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  359 

"  little  bit  of  a  poem  to  Susie,"  which  she  had  asked  him 
for  so  long  ago !  She  received  him  therefore  with  open 
arms,  —  not  literally,  of  course,  which  would  have  been  a 
breach  of  duty  and  propriety,  but  in  a  figurative  sense, 
which  it  is  hoped  no  reader  will  interpret  to  her  discredit. 

The  young  poet  was  in  need  of  consolation.  It  is  true 
that  he  had  seen  many  remarkable  sights  during  his  visit 
to  the  city  ;  that  he  had  got  "  smarted  up,"  as  his  mother 
called  it,  a  good  deal ;  that  he  had  been  to  Mrs.  Clymer 
Ketchum's  party,  where  he  had  looked  upon  life  in  all  its 
splendors  ;  and  that  be  brought  back  many  interesting  ex 
periences,  which  would  serve  to  enliven  his  conversation 
for  a  long  time.  But  he  had  failed  in  the  great  enterprise 
he  had  undertaken.  He  was  forced  to  confess  to  his  re 
vered  parent,  and  his  esteemed  friend  Susan  Posey,  that 
his  genius,  which  was  freely  acknowledged,  was  not  thought 
to  be  quite  ripe  as  yet.  He  told  the  young  lady  some  par 
ticulars  of  his  visit  to  the  publisher,  how  he  had  listened 
with  great  interest  to  one  of  his  poems,  —  "The  Triumph 
of  Song,"  —  how  he  had  treated  him  with  marked  and  nat 
tering  attention  ;  but  that  he  advised  him  not  to  risk  any 
thing  prematurely,  giving  him  the  hope  that  by  and  by  he 
would  be  admitted  into  that  series  of  illustrious  authors 
which  it  was  the  publisher's  privilege  to  present  to  the 
reading  public.  In  short,  he  was  advised  not  to  print. 
That  was  the  net  total  of  the  matter,  and  it  was  a  pang  to 
the  susceptible  heart  of  the  poet.  He  had  hoped  to  have 
come  home  enriched  by  the  sale  of  his  copyright,  and  with 
the  prospect  of  seeing  his  name  before  long  on  the  back  of 
a  handsome  volume. 

Gifted's  mother  did  all  in  her  power  to  console  him  in 
his  disappointment.  There  was  plenty  of  jealous  people 


3  GO  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

always  that  wanted  to  keep  young  folks  from  rising  in  the 
world.  Never  mind,  she  did  n't  believe  but  what  Gifted 
could  make  jest  as  good  verses  as  any  of  them  that  they 
kept  such  a  talk  about.  She  had  a  fear  that  he  might  pine 
away  in  consequence  of  the  mental  excitement  he  had  gone 
through,  and  solicited  his  appetite  with  her  choicest  appli 
ances,  —  of  which  he  partook  in  a  measure  which  showed 
that  there  was  no  immediate  cause  of  alarm. 

But  Susan  Posey  was  more  than  a  consoler,  —  she  was 
an  angel  to  him  in  this  time  of  his  disappointment.  "  Read 
me  all  the  poems  over  again,"  she  said,  —  "  it  is  almost  the 
only  pleasure  I  have  left,  to  hear  you  read  your  beautiful 
verses."  Clement  Lindsay  had  not  written  to  Susan  quite 
so  often  of  late  as  at  some  former  periods  of  the  history  of 
their  love.  Perhaps  it  was  that  which  had  made  her  look 
paler  than  usual  for  some  little  time.  Something  was  evi 
dently  preying  on  her.  Her  only  delight  seemed  to  be  in 
listening  to  Gifted  as  he  read,  sometimes  with  fine  declama 
tory  emphasis,  sometimes  in  low,  tremulous  tones,  the  va 
rious  poems  enshrined  in  his  manuscript.  At  other  times 
she  was  sad,  and  more  than  once  Mrs.  Hopkins  had  seen  a 
tear  steal  down  her  innocent  cheek,  when  there  seemed  to 
be  no  special  cause  for  grief.  She  ventured  to  speak  of  it 
to  Master  Byles  Gridley. 

"  Our  Susan  's  in  trouble,  Mr.  Gridley,  for  some  reason 
or  other  that 's  unbeknown  to  me,  and  I  can't  help  wishing 
you  could  jest  have  a  few  words  with  her.  You  're  a  kind 
of  a  grandfather,  you  know,  to  all  the  young  folks,  and 
they  'd  tell  you  pretty  much  everything  about  themselves. 
I  calc'late  she  is  n't  at  ease  in  her  mind  about  somethin'  or 
other,  and  I  kind  o'  think,  Mr.  Gridley,  you  could  coax  it 
out  of  her." 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  361 

"  Was  there  ever  anything  like  it  ?  "  said  Master  Byles 
Gridley  to  himself.  "  I  shall  have  all  the  young  folks  in 
Oxbow  Village  to  take  care  of  at  this  rate  !  Susan  Posey 
in  trouble,  too !  Well,  well,  well,  it 's  easier  to  get  a  birch- 
bark  canoe  off  the  shallows  than  a  big  ship  off  the  rocks. 
Susan  Posey's  trouble  will  be  come  at  easily  enough ;  but 
Myrtle  Hazard  floats  in  deeper  water.  We  must  make 
Susan  Posey  tell  her  own  story,  or  let  her  tell  it,  for  it  will 
all  come  out  of  itself." 

"  I  am  going  to  dust  the  books  in  the  open  shelves  this 
morning.  I  wonder  if  Miss  Susan  Posey  would  n't  like  to 
help  for  half  an  hour  or  so,"  Master  Gridley  remarked  at 
the  breakfast-table. 

The  amiable  girl's  very  pleasant  countenance  lighted  up 
at  the  thought  of  obliging  the  old  man  who  had  been  so 
kind  to  her  and  so  liberal  to  her  friend,  the  poet.  She 
would  be  delighted  to  help  him  ;  she  would  dust  them  all 
for  him,  if  he  wanted  her  to.  No,  Master  Gridley  said,  he 
always  wanted  to  have  a  hand  in  it ;  and,  besides,  such  a 
little  body  as  she  was  could  not  lift  those  great  folios  out 
of  the  lower  shelves  without  overstraining  herself;  she 
might  handle  the  musketry  and  the  light  artillery,  but  he 
must  deal  with  the  heavy  guns  himself.  "  As  low  down  as 
the  octavos,  Susan  Posey,  you  shall  govern  ;  below  that, 
the  Salic  law." 

Susan  did  not  know  much  about  the  Salic  law  ;  but  she 
knew  he  meant  that  he  would  dust  the  big  books  and  she 
would  attend  to  the  little  ones. 

A  very  young  and  a  very  pretty  girl  is  sometimes  quite 
charming  in  a  costume  which  thinks  of  nothing  less  than 
of  being  attractive.  Susan  appeared  after  breakfast  in  the 
16 


362  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

study,  her  head  bound  with  a  kerchief  of  bright  pattern,  a 
little  jacket  she  had  outgrown  buttoned,  in  spite  of  opposi 
tion,  close  about  her  up  to  the  throat,  round  which  a  white 
handkerchief  was  loosely  tied,  and  a  pair  of  old  gauntlets 
protecting  her  hands,  so  that  she  suggested  something  be 
tween  a  gypsy,  a  jaunty  soubrette,  and  the  file  du  regiment. 
Master  Gridley  took  out  a  great  volume  from  the  lower 
shelf,  —  a  folio  in  massive  oaken  covers  with  clasps  like 
prison  hinges,  bearing  the  stately  colophon,  white  on  a 
ground  of  vermilion,  of  Nicholas  Jenson  and  his  associates. 
He  opened  the  volume,  —  paused  over  its  blue  and  scarlet 
initial  letter,  —  he  turned  page  after  page,  admiring  its 
brilliant  characters,  its  broad,  white  marginal  rivers,  arid 
the  narrower  white  creek  that  separated  the  black-typed 
twin-columns,  —  he  turned  back  to  the  beginning  and  read 
the  commendatory  paragraph,  "  Nam  ipsorum  omnia  ful 
gent  turn  correctione  dignissima,  turn  euro,  imprimendo 
splendida  ac  miranda"  and  began  reading,  "  Incipit  pro- 
emium  super  apparatum  decretalium "  when  it  sud 
denly  occurred  to  him  that  this  was  not  exactly  doing  what 
he  had  undertaken  to  do,  and  he  began  whisking  an  ancient 
bandanna  about  the  ears  of  the  venerable  volume.  All 
this  time  Miss  Susan  Posey  was  catching  the  little  books 
by  the  small  of  their  backs,  pulling  them  out,  opening 
them,  and  clapping  them  together,  'p-'p-'p !  'p-'p-'p  !  and 
carefully  caressing  all  their  edges  with  a  regular  profes 
sional  dusting-cloth,  so  persuasively  that  they  yielded  up 
every  particle  that  a  year  had  drifted  upon  them,  and  came 
forth  refreshed  and  rejuvenated.  This  process  went  on  for 
a  while,  until  Susan  had  worked  down  among  the  octavos, 
and  Master  Gridley  had  worked  up  among  the  quartos. 
He  had  got  hold  of  Calmet's  Dictionary,  and  was  caught 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  3G3 

by  the  article  Solomon,  so  that  he  forgot  his  occupation 
again.  All  at  once  it  struck  him  that  everything  was  very 
silent,  —  the  'p-'p-'p  !  of  clapping  the  books  had  ceased,  and 
the  light  rustle  of  Susan's  dress  was  no  longer  heard.  He 
looked  up  and  saw  her  standing  perfectly  still,  with  a  book 
in  one  hand  and  her  duster  in  the  other.  She  was  lost  in 
thought,  and  by  the  shadow  on  her  face  and  the  glistening 
of  her  blue  eyes  he  knew  it  was  her  hidden  sorrow  that 
had  just  come  back  to  her.  Master  Gridley  shut  up  his 
book,  leaving  Solomon  to  his  fate,  like  the  worthy  Bene 
dictine  he  was  reading,  without  discussing  the  question 
whether  he  was  saved  or  not. 

"  Susan  Posey,  child,  what  is  your  trouble  ?  " 

Poor  Susan  was  in  the  state  of  unstable  equilibrium 
which  the  least  touch  upsets,  and  fell  to  crying.  It  took 
her  some  time  to  get  down  the  waves  of  emotion  so  that 
speech  would  live  upon  them.  At  last  it  ventured  out,  — 
showing  at  intervals,  like  the  boat  rising  on  the  billow, 
sinking  into  the  hollow,  and  climbing  again  into  notice. 

"  0  Mr.  Grid — ley  —  I  can't  —  I  can't  —  tell  you  or  — 
any — body  —  what 's  the  mat — mat — matter.  —  My  heart 
will  br — br — break." 

"  No,  no,  no,  child,"  said  Mr.  Gridley,  sympathetically 
stirred  a  little  himself  by  the  sight  of  Susan  in  tears  and 
sobbing  and  catching  her  breath,  "  that  must  n't  be,  Susan 
Posey.  Come  off  the  steps,  Susan  Posey,  and  stop  dust 
ing  the  books,  —  I  can  finish  them,  —  and  tell  me  all  about 
your  troubles.  I  will  try  to  help  you  out  of  them,  and  I 
have  begun  to  think  I  know  how  to  help  young  people 
pretty  well.  I  have  had  some  experience  at  it." 

But  Susan  cried  and  sobbed  all  the  more  uncontrollably 
and  convulsively.  Master  Gridley  thought  he  had  better 


364  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

lead  her  at  once  to  what  he  felt  pretty  sure  was  the  source 
of  her  grief,  and  that,  when  she  had  had  her  cry  out,  she 
would  probably  make  the  hole  in  the  ice  he  had  broken  big 
enough  in  a  very  few  minutes. 

"  I  think  something  has  gone  wrong  between  you  and 
your  friend,  the  young  gentleman  with  whom  you  are  in 
intimate  relations,  my  child,  and  I  think  you  had  better 
talk  freely  with  me,  for  I  can  perhaps  give  you  a  little 
counsel  that  will  be  of  service." 

Susan  cried  herself  quiet  at  last.  "  There  's  nobody  in 
the  world  like  you,  Mr.  Gridley,"  she  said,  "  and  I  Ve  been 
wanting  to  tell  you  something  ever  so  long.  My  friend  — 
Mr.  Clem  —  Clement  Lindsay  does  n't  care  for  me  as  he 
used  to,  —  I  know  he  does  n't.  He  has  n't  written  to  me 
for  —  I  don't  know  but  it 's  a  month.  And  O  Mr.  Gridley  ! 
he  's  such  a  great  man,  and  I  am  such  a  simple  person,  — 
I  can't  help  thinking  —  he  would  be  happier  with  some 
body  else  than  poor  little  Susan  Posey !  " 

This  last  touch  of  self-pity  overcame  her,  as  it  is  so  api 
to  do  those  who  indulge  in  that  delightful  misery,  and  she 
broke  up  badly,  as  a  horse-fancier  would  say,  so  that  ii 
was  some  little  time  before  she  recovered  her  conversa 
tional  road-gait. 

"  O  Mr.  Gridley,"  she  began  again,  at  length,  "  if  I  onl) 
dared  to  tell  him  what  I  think,  —  that  perhaps  it  would  b( 
happier  for  us  both  —  if  we  could  forget  each  other 
Ought  I  not  to  tell  him  so  ?  Don't  you  think  he  woulo 
find  another  to  make  him  happy  ?  Would  n't  he  forgive 
me  for  telling  him  he  was  free  ?  Were  we  not  too  youn< 
to  know  each  other's  hearts  when  we  promised  each  oil 
that  we  would  love  as  long  as  we  lived  ?  Shrfn't  I  writd 
him  a  letter  this  very  day  and  tell  him  all  ?  Do  you  thin! 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  365 

it  would  be  wrong  in  me  to  do  it  ?.  0  Mr.  Gridley,  it 
makes  me  almost  crazy  to  think  about  it.  Clement  must 
be  free !  I  cannot,  cannot  holJ  him  to  a  promise  he 
does  n't  want  to  keep." 

There  were  so  many  questions  in  this  eloquent  rhapsody 
of  Susan's  that  they  neutralized  each  other,  as  one  might 
say,  and  Master  Gridley  had  time  for  reflection.  His 
thoughts  went  on  something  in  this  way :  — 

"  Pretty  clear  case  !  Guess  Mr.  Clement  can  make  up 
his  mind  to  it.  Put  it  well,  did  n'  t  she  ?  Not  a  word 
about  our  little  Gifted  !  That  's  the  trouble.  Poets  ! 
how  they  do  bewitch  these  school-girls  !  And  having  a 
chance  every  day,  too,  how  could  you  expect  her  to  stand 
it?"  Then  aloud  :  "  Susan  Posey,  you  are  a  good,  honest 
little  girl  as  ever  was.  I  think  you  and  Clement  were  too 
hasty  in  coming  together  for  life  before  you  knew  what 
life  meant.  I  think  if  you  write  Clement  a  letter,  telling 
him  that  you  cannot  help  fearing  that  you  two  are  not 
perfectly  adapted  to  each  other,  on  account  of  certain  dif 
ferences  for  which  neither  of  you  is  responsible,  and  that 
you  propose  that  each  should  release  the  other  from  the 
pledge  given  so  long  ago,  —  in  that  case,  I  say,  I  believe 
he  will  think  no  worse  of  you  for  so  doing,  and  may  per 
haps  agree  that  it  is  best  for  both  of  you  to  seek  your  hap 
piness  elsewhere  than  in  each  other." 

The  book-dusting  came  to  as  abrupt  a  close  as  the  read 
ing  of  Lancelot.  Susan  went  straight  to  her  room,  dried 
her  tears  so  as  to  write  in  a  fair  hand,  but  had  to  stop 
every  few  lines  and  take  a  turn  at  the  "  dust-layers,"  as 
Mrs.  Clymer  Ketchum's  friend  used  to  call  the  fountains 
of  sensibility.  It  would  seem  like  betraying  Susan's  con 
fidence  to  reveal  the  contents  of  this  letter,  but  the  reader 


366  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

may  be  assured  that  it  was  simple  and  sincere  and  very 
sweetly  written,  without  the  slightest  allusion  to  any  other 
young  man,  whether  of  ',.ie  poetical  or  cheaper  human  va 
rieties. 

It  was  not  long  before  Susan  received  a  reply  from 
Clement  Lindsay.  It  was  as  kind  and  generous  and  noble 
as  she  could  have  asked.  It  was  affectionate,  as  a  very 
amiable  brother's  letter  might  be,  and  candidly  apprecia 
tive  of  the  reasons  Susan  had  assigned  for  her  proposal. 
He  gave  her  back  her  freedom,  —  not  that  he  should  cease 
to  feel  an  interest  in  her,  always.  He  accepted  his  own 
release,  not  that  he  would  ever  think  she  could  be  indif 
ferent  to  his  future  fortunes.  And  within  a  very  brief 
period  of  time  after  sending  his  answer  to  Susan  Posey, 
whether  he  wished  to  see  her  in  person,  or  whether  he  had 
some  other  motive,  he  had  packed  his  trunk,  and  made 
his  excuses  for  an  absence  of  uncertain  length  at  the 
studio,  and  was  on  his  way  to  Oxbow  Village. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  367 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

JUST   AS    YOU    EXPECTED. 

THE  spring  of  1861  had  now  arrived,  —  that  event 
ful  spring  which  was  to  lift  the  curtain  and  show 
the  first  scene  of  the  first  act  in  the  mighty  drama  which 
fixed  the  eyes  of  mankind  during  four  bloody  years.  The 
little  schemes  of  little  people  were  going  on  in  all  our 
cities  and  villages  without  thought  of  the  fearful  convul 
sion  which  was  soon  coming  to  shatter  the  hopes  and 
cloud  the  prospects  of  millions.  Our  little  Oxbow  Village, 
which  held  itself  by  no  means  the  least  of  human  cen 
tres,  was  the  scene  of  its  own  commotions,  as  intense  and 
exciting  to  those  concerned  as  if  the  destiny  of  the  nation 
had  been  involved  in  them. 

Mr.  Clement  Lindsay  appeared  suddenly  in  that  impor 
tant  locality,  and  repaired  to  his  accustomed  quarters  at 
the  house  of  Deacon  Rumrill.  That  worthy  person  re 
ceived  him  with  a  certain  gravity  of  manner,  caused  by 
his  recollection  of  the  involuntary  transgression  into  which 
Mr.  Lindsay  had  led  him  by  his  present  of  Ivanhoe.  He 
was,  on  the  whole,  glad  to  see  him,  for  his  finances  were 
not  yet  wholly  recovered  from  the  injury  inflicted  on  them 
by  the  devouring  element.  But  he  could  not  forget  that 
his  boarder  had  betrayed  him  into  a  breach  of  the  fourth 
commandment,  and  that  the  strict  eyes  of  his  clergyman 
had  detected  him  in  the  very  commission  of  the  offence. 
He  had  no  sooner  seen  Mr.  Clement  comfortably  installed, 
therefore,  than  he  presented  himself  at  the  door  of  his 


368  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

chamber  with  the  book,  enveloped  in  strong  paper  and 
very  securely  tied  round  with  a  stout  string. 

"  Here  is  your  vollum,  Mr.  Lindsay,"  the  Deacon  said. 
"  I  understand  it  is  not  the  work  of  that  great  and  good 
malm  who  I  thought  wrote  it.  I  did  not  see  anything 
immoral  in  it  as  fur  as  I  read,  but  it  belongs  to  what  I 
consider  a  very  dangerous  class  of  publications.  These 
novels  and  r6mances  are  awfully  destructive  to  our  youth. 
I  should  recommend  you,  as  a  young  man  of  principle,  to 
burn  the  vollum.  At  least  I  hope  you  will  not  leave  it 
about  anywhere  unless  it  is  carefully  tied  up.  I  have 
written  upon  the  paper  round  it  to  warn  off  all  the  young 
persons  of  my  household  from  meddling  with  it." 

True  enough,  Mr.  Clement  saw  in  strong  black  letters 
on  the  back  of  the  paper  wrapping  his  unfortunate  Ivan- 
hoe, — 

"  DANGEROUS  READING  FOR  CHRISTIAN  YOUTH. 
"  TOUCH  NOT  THE  UNCLEAN  THING." 

"  I  thought  you  said  you  had  Scott's  picture  hung  up 
in  your  parlor,  Deacon  Rumrill,"  he  said,  a  little  amused 
with  the  worthy  man's  fear  and  precautions. 

"  It  is  the  great  Scott's  likeness  that  I  have  in  my  par 
lor,"  he  said ;  "  I  will  show  it  to  you  if  you  will  come 
with  me." 

Mr.  Clement  followed  the  Deacon  into  that  sacred  apart 
ment. 

"  That  is  the  portrait  of  the  great  Scott,"  he  said,  point 
ing  to  an  engraving  of  a  heavy-looking  person  whose 
phrenological  developments  were  a  somewhat  striking  con 
trast  to  those  of  the  distinguished  Sir  Walter. 

"  I  will  take  good  care  that  none  of  your  young  people 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  369 

see  this  volume,"  Mr.  Clement  said  ;  "  I  trust  you  read  it 
yourself,  however,  and  found  something  to  please  you  in 
it.  I  am  sure  you  are  safe  from  being  harmed  by  any- 
such  book.  Didn't  you  have  to  finish  it,  Deacon,  after 
you  had  once  begun  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  —  I  —  perused  a  consid'able  portion  of  the 
work,"  the  Deacon  answered,  in  a  way  that  led  Mr. 
Clement  to  think  he  had  not  stopped  much  short  of  Finis. 
u  Anything  new  in  the  city  ?  " 

"  Nothing  except  what  you  've  all  had,  —  Confederate 
States  establishing  an  army  and  all  that,  —  not  very  new 
either.  What  has  been  going  on  here  lately,  Deacon  ?  " 

"  Well,  Mr.  Lindsay,  not  a  great  deal.  My  new  barn 
is  pretty  nigh  done.  I  've  got  as  fine  a  litter  of  pigs  as 
ever  you  see.  I  don't  know  whether  you  're  a  judge  of  pigs 
or  no.  The  Hazard  gal 's  come  back,  spilt,  pooty  much, 
I  guess.  Been  to  one  o'  them  fashionable  schools,  —  I  've 
heerd  that  she  's  learnt  to  dance.  I  've  heerd  say  that  that 
Hopkins  boy  's  round  the  Posey  gal,  —  come  to  think,  she 's 
the  one  you  went  with  some  when  you  was  here,  —  I  'm 
gettin'  kind  o^  forgetful.  Old  Doctor  Hurlbut  's  pretty 
low,  —  ninety -four  year  old,  —  born  in  '67,  —  folks  ain't 
ginerally  very  spry  after  they  're  ninety,  but  he  held  out 
wonderful." 

"  How  's  Mr.  Bradshaw  ?  " 

"  Well,  the  young  squire,  he  's  off  travellin'  somewhere 
in  the  West,  or  to  Washin'ton,  or  somewhere  else, — I 
don't  jestly  know  where.  They  say  that  he  's  follerin'  up 
the  courts  in  the  business  about  old  Malachi's  estate.  I 
don'  know  much  about  it." 

The  news  got  round  Oxbow  Village  very  speedily  that 


370  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Mr.  Clement  Lindsay,  generally  considered  the  accepted 
lover  of  Miss  Susan  Posey,  had  arrived  in  that  place. 
Now  it  had  come  to  be  the  common  talk  of  the  village 
that  young  Gifted  Hopkins  and  Susan  Posey  were  getting 
to  be  mighty  thick  with  each  other,  and  the  prevailing  idea 
was  that  Clement's  visit  had  reference  to  that  state  of 
affairs.  Some  said  that  Susan  had  given  her  young  man 
the  mitten,  meaning  thereby  that  she  had  signified  that  his 
services  as  a  suitor  were  dispensed  with.  Others  thought 
there  was  only  a  wavering  in  her  affection  for  her  lover, 
and  that  he  feared  for  her  constancy,  and  had  come  to 
vindicate  his  rights. 

Some  of  the  young  fellows,  who  were  doubtless  envious 
of  Gifted's  popularity  with  the  fair  sex,  attempted  in  the 
most  unjustifiable  manner  to  play  upon  his  susceptible  na 
ture.  One  of  them  informed  him  that  he  had  seen  that 
Lindsay  fellah  raound  taown  with  the  darndest  big  stick 
y'  ever  did  see.  Looked  kind  o'  savage  and  wild  like. 
Another  one  told  him  that  perhaps  he  'd  better  keep  a  little 
shady  ;  that  are  chap  that  had  got  the  mittin  was  praowlin' 
abaout  with  a  pistil, —  one  o'  them  Darringers,  —  abaout  as 
long  as  your  thumb,  an'  '11  fire  a  bullet  as  big  as  a  p'tatah- 
ball,  —  a  fellah  carries  one  in  his  breeches-pocket,  an* 
shoots  y'  right  threugh  his  own  pahnts,  withaout  ever  takin' 
on  it  aout  of  his  pocket.  The  stable-keeper,  who,  it  may 
be  remembered,  once  exchanged  a  few  playful  words  with 
Mr.  Gridley,  got  a  hint  from  some  of  these  unfeeling 
young  men,  and  offered  the  resources  of  his  stable  to  the 
youth  supposed  to  be  in  peril. 

"  I  Ve  got  a  faiist  colt,  Mr.  Hopkins,  that  '11  put  twenty 
mild  betwixt  you  an'  this  here  village,  as  quick  as  any 
four  huffs  '11  dew  it  in  this  here  caounty,  if  you  should  want 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  371 

to  get  away  suddin.  I  Ve  heern  tell  there  was  some  lookin' 
raound  here  that  would  n't  be  wholesome  to  meet,  — jest 
say  the  word,  Mr.  Hopkins,  an'  I  '11  have  ye  on  that  are 
colt's  back  in  less  than  no  time,  an'  start  ye  off  full  jump. 
There 's  a  good  many  that  'a  kind  o'  worried  for  fear 
something  might  happen  to  ye,  Mr.  Hopkins,  —  y'  see  fel 
lahs  don't  like  to  have  other  chaps  cuttin'  on  'em  aout  with 
their  gals." 

Gifted  Hopkins  had  become  excessively  nervous  by  this 
time.  It  is  true  that  everything  in  his  intimacy  with 
Susan  Posey,  so  far,  might  come  under  the  general  head  of 
friendship ;  but  he  was  conscious  that  something  more 
was  in  both  their  thoughts.  Susan  had  given  him  myste 
rious  hints  that  her  relations  with  Clement  had  undergone 
a  change,  but  had  never  had  quite  courage  enough,  per 
haps  had  too  much  delicacy,  to  reveal  the  whole  truth. 

Gifted  was  walking  home,  deeply  immersed  in  thoughts 
excited  by  the  hints  which  had  been  thus  wantonly  thrown 
out  to  inflame  his  imagination,  when  all  at  once,  on  lifting 
his  eyes,  he  saw  Clement  Lindsay  coming  straight  towards 
him.  Gifted  was  unarmed,  except  with  a  pair  of  blunt 
scissors,  which  he  carried  habitually  in  his  pocket.  What 
should  he  do  ?  Should  he  fly  ?  But  he  was  never  a  good 
runner,  being  apt  to  find  himself  scant  o'  breath,  like  Ham 
let,  after  violent  exercise.  His  demeanor  on  the  occasion 
did  credit  to  his  sense  of  his  own  virtuous  conduct  and  his 
self-possession.  He  put  his  hand  out,  while  yet  at  a  con 
siderable  distance,  and  marched  up  towards  Clement,  smil 
ing  with  all  the  native  amiability  which  belonged  to  him. 

To  his  infinite  relief,  Clement  put  out  his  hand  to  grasp 
the  one  offered  him,  and  greeted  the  young  poet  in  the 
most  frank  and  cordial  manner. 


372  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  And  how  is  Miss  Susan  Posey,  Mr.  Hopkins  ?  "  asked 
Clement,  in  the  most  cheerful  tone.  "  It  is  a  long  while 
since  I  have  seen  her,  and  you  must  tell  her  that  I  hope  I 
shall  not  leave  the  village  without  finding  time  to  call 
upon  her.  She  and  I  are  good  friends  always,  Mr.  Hop 
kins,  though  perhaps  I  shall  not  be  quite  so  often  at  your 
mother's  as  I  was  during  my  last  visit  to  Oxbow  Village." 

Gifted  felt  somewhat  as  the  subject  of  one  of  those  old- 
fashioned  forms  of  argument,  formerly  much  employed  to 
convince  men  of  error  in  matters  of  religion,  must  have 
felt  when  the  official  who  superintended  the  stretching- 
machine  said,  "  Slack  up ! " 

He  told  Mr.  Clement  all  about  Susan,  and  was  on  the 
point  of  saying  that  if  he,  Mr.  Clement,  did  not  claim 
any  engrossing  interest  in  her,  he,  Gifted,  was  ready  to 
offer  her  the  devotion  of  a  poet's  heart.  Mr.  Clement, 
however,  had  so  many  other  questions  to  ask  him  about 
everybody  in  the  village,  more  particularly  concerning  cer 
tain  young  persons  in  whom  he  seemed  to  be  specially  in 
terested,  that  there  was  no  chance  to  work  in  his  own  rev 
elations  of  sentiment. 

Clement  Lindsay  had  come  to  Oxbow  Village  with  a 
single  purpose.  He  could  now  venture  to  trust  himself  in 
the  presence  of  Myrtle  Hazard.  He  was  free,  and  he 
knew  nothing  to  show  that  she  had  lost  the  liberty  of  dis 
posing  of  her  heart.  But  after  an  experience  such  as  he 
had  gone  through,  he  was  naturally  distrustful  of  himself, 
and  inclined  to  be  cautious  and  reserved  in  yielding  to  a 
new  passion.  Should  he  tell  her  the  true  relations  in 
which  they  stood  to  each  other,  —  that  she  owed  her  life 
to  him,  and  that  he  had  very  nearly  sacrificed  his  own  in 
saving  hers  ?  Why  not  ?  He  had  a  claim  on  her  grati- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  373 

tude  for  what  he  had  done  in  her  behalf,  and  out  of  this 
gratitude  there  might  naturally  spring  a  warmer  feeling. 

No,  he  could  not  try  to  win  her  affections  by  showing 
that  he  had  paid  for  them  beforehand.  She  seemed  to  be 
utterly  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  it  was  he  who  had 
been  with  her  in  the  abyss  of  waters.  If  the  thought  came 
to  her  of  itself,  and  she  ever  asked  him,  it  would  be 
time  enough  to  tell  her  the  story.  If  not,  the  moment 
might  arrive  when  he  could  reveal  to  her  the  truth  that  he 
was  her  deliverer,  without  accusing  himself  of  bribing  her 
woman's  heart  to  reward  him  for  his  services.  He  would 
wait  for  that  moment. 

It  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  Mr.  Lind 
say,  a  young  gentleman  from  the  city,  should  call  to  see 
Miss  Hazard,  a  young  lady  whom  he  had  met  recently  at 
a  party.  To  that  pleasing  duty  he  addressed  himself  the 
evening  after  his  arrival. 

"  The  young  gentleman 's  goin'  a  courtin,  'I  calc'late," 
was  the  remark  of  the  Deacon's  wife  when  she  saw  what 
a  comely  figure  Mr.  Clement  showed  at  the  tea-table. 

"  A  very  hahnsome  young  mahn,"  the  Deacon  replied, 
"  and  looks  as  if  he  might  know  consid'able.  An  archi 
tect,  you  know,  —  a  sort  of  a  builder.  Wonder  if  he 
has  n't  got  any  good  plans  for  a  hahnsome  pigsty.  I  sup 
pose  he  'd  charge  somethin'  for  one,  but  it  could  n't  be 
much,  an'  he  could  take  it  out  in  board." 

"  Better  ask  him,"  his  wife  said ;  "  he  looks  mighty 
pleasant ;  there 's  nothin'  lost  by  askin',  an'  a  good  deal 
got  sometimes,  grandma  used  to  say." 

The  Deacon  followed  her  advice.  Mr.  Clement  was 
perfectly  good-natured  about  it,  asked  the  Deacon  the 
number  of  snouts  in  his  menagerie,  got  an  idea  of  the 


374  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

accommodations  required,  and  sketched  the  plan  of  a  neat 
and  appropriate  edifice  for  the  Porcellarium,  as  Master 
Gridley  afterwards  pleasantly  christened  it,  which  was 
carried  out  by  the  carpenter,  and  stands  to  this  day  a 
monument  of  his  obliging  disposition,  and  a  proof  that 
there  is  nothing  so  humble  that  taste  cannot  be  shown 
in  it. 

"  What  '11  be  your  charge  for  the  plan  of  the  pigsty, 
Mr.  Lindsay?"  the  Deacon  inquired  with  an  air  of  in 
terest, —  he  might  have  become  involved  more  deeply  than 
he  had  intended.  "  How  much  should  you  call  about  right 
for  the  picter  an'  figgerin'  ?  " 

"  0,  you  're  quite  welcome  to  my  sketch  of  a  plan, 
Deacon.  I  've  seen  much  showier  buildings  tenanted  by 
animals  not  very  different  from  those  your  edifice  is  meant 
for." 

Mr.  Clement  found  the  three  ladies  sitting  together  in 
the  chill,  dim  parlor  at  The  Poplars.  They  had  one  of  the 
city  papers  spread  out  on  the  table,  and  Myrtle  was  read 
ing  aloud  the  last  news  from  Charleston  Harbor.  She 
rose  as  Mr.  Clement  entered,  and  stepped  forward  to  meet 
him.  It  was  a  strange  impression  this  young  man  pro 
duced  upon  her,  —  not  through  the  common  channels  of 
the  intelligence,  —  not  exactly  that  "  magnetic  "  influence 
of  which  she  had  had  experience  at  a  former  time.  It 
did  not  overcome  her  as  at  the  moment  of  their  second 
meeting.  But  it  was  something  she  must  struggle  against, 
and  she  had  force  and  pride  and  training  enough  now  to 
maintain  her  usual  tranquillity,  in  spite  of  a  certain  inward 
commotion  which  seemed  to  reach  her  breathing  and  her 
pulse  by  some  strange,  inexplicable  mechanism. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  375 

Myrtle,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  no  longer  the  sim 
ple  country  girl  who  had  run  away  at  fifteen,  but  a  young 
lady  of  seventeen,  who  had  learned  all  that  more  than  a 
year's  diligence  at  a  great  school  could  teach  her,  who  had 
been  much  with  girls  of  taste  and  of  culture,  and  was 
familiar  with  the  style  and  manners  of  those  who  came 
from  what  considered  itself  the  supreme  order  in  the  social 
hierarchy.  Her  natural  love  for  picturesque  adornment 
was  qualified  by  a  knowledge  of  the  prevailing  modes  not 
usual  in  so  small  a  place  as  Oxbow  Village.  All  this  had 
not  failed  to  produce  its  impression  on  those  about  her. 
Persons  who,  like  Miss  Silence  Withers,  believe,  not  in 
education,  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  healthy  nature  to  be 
educated,  but  in  transformation,  worry  about  their  charges 
up  to  a  certain  period  of  their  lives.  Then,  if  the  trans 
formation  does  not  come,  they  seem  to  think  their  cares 
and  duties  are  at"  an  end,  and,  considering  their  theories 
of  human  destiny,  usually  accept  the  situation  with  won 
derful  complacency.  This  was  the  stage  which  Miss  Si 
lence  Withers  had  reached  with  reference  to  Myrtle.  It 
made  her  infinitely  more  agreeable,  or  less  disagreeable, 
as  the  reader  may  choose  one  or  the  other  statement,  than 
when  she  was  always  fretting  about  her  "responsibility." 
She  even  began  to  take  an  interest  in  some  of  Myrtle's 
worldly  experiences,  and  something  like  a  smile  would  now 
and  then  disarrange  the  chief-mourner  stillness  of  her 
features,  as  Myrtle  would  tell  some  lively  story  she  had 
brought  away  from  the  gay  society  she  had  frequented. 

Cynthia  Badlam  kept  her  keen  eyes  on  her  like  a  hawk. 
Murray  Bradshaw  was  away,  and  here  was  this  handsome 
and  agreeable  youth  coming  in  to  poach  on  the  preserve 
of  which  she  considered  herself  the  gamekeeper.  What 


376  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

did  it  mean  ?  She  had  heard  the  story  about  Susan's  be 
ing  off  with  her  old  love  and  on  with  a  new  one.  Ah  ha ! 
this  is  the  game,  is  it  ? 

Clement  Lindsay  passed  not  so  much  a  pleasant  evening, 
as  one  of  strange,  perplexed,  and  mingled  delight  and  in 
ward  conflict.  He  had  found  his  marble  once  more  turned 
to  flesh  and  blood,  and  breathing  before  him.  This  was 
the  woman  he  was  born  for ;  her  form  was  fit  to  model  his 
proudest  ideal  from,  —  her  eyes  melted  him  when  they 
rested  for  an  instant  on  his  face,  —  her  voice  reached  the 
hidden  sensibilities  of  his  inmost  nature  ;  those  which  never 
betray  their  existence  until  the  outward  chord  to  which  they 
vibrate  in  response  sends  its  message  to  stir  them.  But 
was  she  not  already  pledged  to  that  other,  —  that  cold 
blooded,  contriving,  venal,  cynical,  selfish,  polished,  fasci 
nating  man  of  the  world,  whose  artful  strategy  would  pass 
with  nine  women  out  of  ten  for  the  most  romantic  de 
votion  ? 

If  he  had  known  the  impression  he  made,  he  would  have 
felt  less  anxiety  with  reference  to  this  particular  possi 
bility.  Miss  Silence  expressed  herself  gratified  with  his 
appearance,  and  thought  he  looked  like  a  good  young 
man,  —  he  reminded  her  of  a  young  friend  of  hers  who  — 
[It  was  the  same  who  had  gone  to  one  of  the  cannibal 
islands  as  a  missionary,  —  and  stayed  there.]  Myrtle  was 
very  quiet.  She  had  nothing  to  say  about  Clement,  ex 
cept  that  she  had  met  him  at  a  party  in  the  city,  and  found 
him  agreeable.  Miss  Cynthia  wrote  a  letter  to  Murray 
Bradshaw  that  very  evening,  telling  him  that  he  had  bet 
ter  come  back  to  Oxbow  Village  as  quickly  as  he  could, 
unless  he  wished  to  find  his  place  occupied  by  an  in 
truder. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  377 

In  the  mean  time,  the  country  was  watching  the  garri 
son  in  Charleston  Harbor.  All  at  once  the  first  gun  of 
the  four  years'  cannonade  hurled  its  ball  against  the  walls 
of  Fort  Sumter.  There  was  no  hamlet  in  the  land  which 
the  reverberations  of  that  cannon-roar  did  not  reach.  There 
was  no  valley  so  darkened  by  overshadowing  hills  that 
it  did  not  see  the  American  flag  hauled  down  on  the  13th 
of  April.  There  was  no  loyal  heart  in  the  North  that  did 
not  answer  to  the  call  of  the  country  to  its  defenders 
which  went  forth  two  days  later.  The  great  tide  of  feel 
ing  reached  the  locality  where  the  lesser  events  of  our 
narrative  were  occurring.  A  meeting  of  the  citizens 
was  instantly  called.  The  venerable  Father  Pemberton 
opened  it  with  a  prayer  that  filled  every  soul  with  cour 
age  and  high  resolve.  The  young  farmers  and  mechanics 
of  that  whole  region  joined  the  companies  to  which  they 
belonged,  or  organized  in  squads  and  marched  at  once,  or 
got  ready  to  march,  to  the  scene  of  conflict. 

The  contagion  of  warlike  patriotism  reached  the  most 
peacefully  inclined  young  persons. 

"  My  country  calls  me,"  Gifted  Hopkins  said  to  Susan 
Posey,  "  and  I  am  preparing  to  obey  her  summons.  If 
I  can  pass  the  medical  examination,  which  it  is  possible  I 
may,  though  I  fear  my  constitution  may  be  thought  too 
weak,  and  if  no  obstacle  impedes  me,  I  think  of  marching 
,  in  the  ranks  of  the  Oxbow  Invincibles.  If  I  go,  Susan, 
and  I  fall,  will  you  not  remember  me  ...  as  one  who  .  .  . 
cherished  the  tenderest  .  .  .  sentiments  .  .  .  towards  you 
.  .  .  and  who  had  looked  forward  to  the  time  when  .  .  . 
when  .  .  ." 

His  eyes  told  the  rest.     He  loved  ! 

Susan  forgot  all  the  rules  of  reserve  to  which  she  had 


378  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

been  trained.  What  were  cold  conventionalities  at  such  a 
moment  ?  "  Never !  never  ! "  she  said,  throwing  her  arms 
about  his  neck  and  mingling  her  tears  with  his,  which  were 
flowing  freely.  "  Your  country  does  not  need  your  sword, 
.  .  .  but  it  does  need  .  .  .  your  pen.  Your  poems  will  in 
spire  .  .  .  our  soldiers.  .  .  .  The  Oxbow  Invincibles  will 
march  to  victory,  singing  your  songs.  ...  If  you  go  ... 
and  if  you  ...  fall  .  .  .  O  Gifted  !  ...  I  ...  I  ...  yes,  I 
.  .  .  shall  die  too !  " 

His  love  was  returned.     He  was  blest ! 

"  Susan,"  he  said,  "  my  own  Susan,  I  yield  to  your 
wishes,  at  every  sacrifice.  Henceforth  they  will  be  my 
law.  Yes,  I  will  stay  and  encourage  my  brave  countrv- 
men  to  go  forward  to  the  bloody  field.  My  voice  shall 
urge  them  on  to  the  battle-ground.  I  will  give  my  dearest 
breath  to  stimulate  their  ardor.  .  .  .  O  Susan  !  My  own, 
own  Susan  ! " 

While  these  interesting  events  had  been  going  on  be 
neath  the  modest  roof  of  the  Widow  Hopkins,  affairs 
had  been  rapidly  hastening  to  a  similar  conclusion  under 
the  statelier  shadow  of  The  Poplars.  Clement  Lind 
say  was  so  well  received  at  his  first  visit  that  he  ven 
tured  to  repeat  it  several  times,  with  so  short  intervals  that 
it  implied  something  more  than  a  common  interest  in  one 
of  the  members  of  the  household.  There  was  no  room 
for  doubt  who  this  could  be,  and  Myrtle  Hazard  could  not 
help  seeing  that  she  -was  the  object  of  his  undisguised 
admiration.  The  belief  was  now  general  in  the  village 
that  Gifted  Hopkins  and  Susan  Posey  were  either  engaged, 
or  on  the  point  of  being  so;  and  it  was  equally  under 
stood  that,  whatever  might  be  the  explanation,  she  and 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  379 

her  former  lover  had  parted  company  in  an  amicable 
manner. 

Love  works  very  strange  transformations  in  young 
women.  Sometimes  it  leads  them  to  try  every  mode  of 
adding  to  their  attractions,  —  their  whole  thought  is  how 
to  be  most  lovely  in  the  eyes  they  would  fill  so  as  to  keep 
out  all  other  images.  Poor  darlings !  We  smile  at  their 
little  vanities,  as  if  they  were  very  trivial  things  compared 
with  the  last  Congressman's  speech  or  the  great  Election 
Sermon  ;  but  Nature  knows  well  what  she  is  about.  The 
maiden's  ribbon  or  ruffle  means  a  great  deal  more  for  her 
than  the  judge's  wig  or  the  priest's  surplice. 

It  was  not  in  this  way  that  the  gentle  emotion  awaking 
in  the  breast  of  Myrtle  Hazard  betrayed  itself.  As  the 
thought  dawned  in  her  consciousness  that  she  was  loved,  a 
ehange  came  over  her  such  as  the  spirit  that  protected  her, 
according  to  the  harmless  fancy  she  had  inherited,  might 
have  wept  for  joy  to  behold,  if  tears  could  flow  from  an 
gelic  eyes.  She  forgot  herself  and  her  ambitions,  — '  the 
thought  of  shining  in  the  great  world  died  out  in  the  pres 
ence  of  new  visions  of  a  future  in  which  she  was  not  to  be 
her  own,  —  of  feelings  in  the  depth  of  which  the  shallow 
vanities  which  had  drawn  her  young  eyes  to  them  for  a 
while  seemed  less  than  nothing.  Myrtle  had  not  hitherto 
said  to  herself  that  Clement  was  her  lover,  yet  her  whole 
nature  was  expanding  and  deepening  in  the  light  of  that 
friendship  which  any  other  eye  could  have  known  at  a 
glance  for  the  great  passion. 

Cynthia  Badlam  wrote  a  pressing  letter  to  Murray  Brad- 
shaw.  "There  is  no  time  to  be  lost;  she  is  bewitched, 
and  will  be  gone  beyond  hope  if  this  business  is  not  put  a 
stop  to." 


380  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Love  moves  in  an  accelerating  ratio ;  and  there  comes 
a  time  when  the  progress  of  the  passion  escapes  from  all 
human  formulae,  and  brings  two  young  hearts,  which  had 
been  gradually  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  together,  into 
complete  union,  with  a  suddenness  that  puts  an  infinity 
between  the  moment  when  all  is  told  and  that  which  went 
just  before. 

They  were  sitting  together  by  themselves  in  the  dimly 
lighted  parlor.  They  had  told  each  *other  many  expe 
riences  of  their  past  lives,  very  freely,  as  two  intimate 
friends  of  different  sex  might  do.  Clement  had  happened 
to  allude  to  Susan,  s-peaking  very  kindly  and  tenderly  of 
her.  He  hoped  this  youth  to  whom  she  was  attached 
would  make  her  life  happy.  "  You  know  how  simple- 
hearted  and  good  she  is  ;  her  image  will  always  be  a  pleas 
ant  one  in  my  memory,  —  second  to  but  one  other." 

Myrtle  ought,  according  to  the  common  rules  of  conver 
sation,  to  have  asked,  What  other  ?  but  she  did  not.  She 
may  have  looked  as  if  she  wanted  to  ask,  —  she  may  have 
blushed  or  turned  pale,  —  perhaps  she  could  not  trust  her 
voice ;  but  whatever  the  reason  was,  she  sat  still,  with 
downcast  eyes.  Clement  waited  a  reasonable  time,  but, 
finding  it  was  of  no  use,  began  again. 

"  Your  image  is  the  one  other,  —  the  only  one,  let  me  say, 
for  all  else  fades  in  its  presence,  —  your  image  fills  all  my 
thought.  Will  you  trust  your  life  and  happiness  with  one 
who  can  offer  you  so  little  beside  his  love  ?  You  know 
my  whole  heart  is  yours." 

Whether  Myrtle  said  anything  in  reply  or  not,  —  wheth 
er  she  acted  like  Coleridge's  Genevieve,  —  that  is,  "  fled 
to  him  and  wept,"  or  suffered  her  feelings  to  betray  them 
selves  in  some  less  startling  confession,  we  will  leave  un- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  381 

told.  Her  answer,  spoken  or  silent,  could  not  have  been  a 
cruel  one,  for  in  another  moment  Clement  was  pressing 
his  lips  to  hers,  after  the  manner  of  accepted  lovers. 

"  Our  lips  have  met  to-day  for  the  second  time,"  he  said, 
presently. 

She  looked  at  him  in  wonder.  What  did  he  mean  ? 
The  second  time  !  How  assuredly  he  spoke !  She  looked 
him  calmly  in  the  face,  and  awaited  his  explanation. 

"  I  have  a  singular  story  to  tell  you.  On  the  morning  of 
the  1 6th  of  June,  now  nearly  two  years  ago,  I  was  sitting 
in  my  room  at  Alderbank,  some  twenty  miles  down  the 
river,  when  I  heard  a  cry  for  help  coming  from  the  river. 
I  ran  down  to  the  bank,  and  there  I  saw  a  boy  in  an  old 
boat  —  " 

When  it  came  to  the  "  boy  "  in  the  old  boat.  Myrtle's 
cheeks  flamed  so  that  she  could  not  bear  it,  and  she  cov 
ered  her  face  with  both  her  hands.  But  Clement  told  his 
story  calmly  through  to  the  end,  sliding  gently  over  its 
later  incidents,  for  Myrtle's  heart  was  throbbing  violently, 
and  her  breath  a  little  catching  and  sighing,  as  when  she 
had  first  lived  with  the  new  life  his  breath  had  given  her. 

"  Why  did  you  ask  me  for  myself,  when  you  could  have 
claimed  me  ?  "  she  said. 

"  I  wanted  a  free  giftj  Myrtle,"  Clement  answered,  "  and 
I  have  it." 

They  sat  in  silence,  lost  in  the  sense  of  that  new  life 
which  had  suddenly  risen  on  their  souls. 

The  door-bell  rang  sharply.  Kitty  Fagan  answered  its 
summons,  and  presently  entered  the  parlor  and  announced 
that  Mr.  Bradshavv  was  in  the  library,  and  wished  to  see 
the  ladies. 


382  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

MURRAY    BRADSHAW   PLAYS    HIS    LAST   CARD. 


H 


OW  can  I  see  that  man  this  evening,  Mr.  Lind 


say  ? 


"May  I  not  be  Clement,  dearest?  I  would  not  see 
him  at  all,  Myrtle.  I  don't  believe  you  will  find  much 
pleasure  in  listening  to  his  fine  speeches." 

"  I  cannot  endure  it.  —  Kitty,  tell  him  I  am  engaged, 
and  cannot  see  him  this  evening.  No,  no !  don't  say  en 
gaged,  say  very  much  occupied." 

Kitty  departed,  communing  with  herself  in  this  wise:  — 
"  Ockipied,  is  it  ?  An'  that 's  what  ye  cahl  it  when  ye  *re 
kapin'  company  with  one  young  gintleman  an'  don't  want 
another  young  gintleman  to  come  in  an'  help  the  two  of 
ye  ?  Ye  won't  get  y'r  pigs  to  market  to-day,  Mr.  Brid- 
shaw,  no,  nor  to-morrow,  nayther,  Mr.  Bridshaw.  It 's 
Mrs.  Lindsay  that  Miss  Myrtle  is  goin'  to  be,  —  an'  a  big 
cake  there  '11  be  at  the  weddin',  frosted  all  over,  —  won't 
ye  be  plased  with  a  slice  o'  that,  Mr.  Bridshaw  ?  " 

With  these  reflections  in  her  mind,  Mistress  Kitty  deliv 
ered  her  message,  not  without  a  gleam  of  malicious  in 
telligence  in  her  look  that  stung  Mr.  Bradshaw  sharply. 
He  had  noticed  a  hat  in  the  entry,  and  a  little  stick  by 
it  which  he  remembered  well  as  one  he  had  seen  carried 
by  Clement  Lindsay.  But  he  was  used  to  concealing  his 
emotions,  and  he  greeted  the  two  older  ladies  who  pres 
ently  came  into  the  library  so  pleasantly,  that  no  one  who 
had  not  studied  his  face  long  and  carefully  would  have 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  383 

suspected  the  bitterness  of  heart  that  lay  hidden  far  clown 
beneath  his  deceptive  smile.  He  told  Miss  Silence,  with 
much  apparent  interest,  the  story  of  his  journey.  He  gave 
her  an  account  of  the  progress  of  the  case  in  which  the 
estate  of  which  she  inherited  the  principal  portion  was 
interested.  He  did  not  tell  her  that  a  final  decision  which 
would  settle  the  right  to  the  great  claim  might  be  ex 
pected  at  any  moment,  and  he  did  not  tell  her  that  there 
was  very  little  doubt  that  it  would  be  in  favor  of  the  heirs 
of  Malachi  Withers.  He  was  very  sorry  he  could  not  see 
Miss  Hazard  that  evening, — hoped  he  should  be  more 
fortunate  to-morrow  forenoon,  when  he  intended  to  call 
again,  —  had  a  message  for  her  from  one  of  her  former 
school  friends,  which  he  was  anxious  to  give  her.  He  ex 
changed  certain  looks  and  hints  with  Miss  Cynthia,  which 
led  her  to  withdraw  and  bring  down  the  papers  he  had 
intrusted  to  her.  At  the  close  of  his  visit,  she  followed 
him  into  the  entry  with  a  lamp,  as  was  her  common  custom. 

"  What 's  the  meaning  of  all  this,  Cynthia  ?  Is  that 
fellow  making  love  to  Myrtle?" 

"  I  'm  afraid  so,  Mr.  Bradshaw.  He  's  been  here  several 
times,  and  they  seem  to  be  getting  intimate.  I  could  n't 
do  anything  to  stop  it." 

"  Give  me  the  papers,  —  quick !  " 

Cynthia  pulled  the  package  from  her  pocket.  Murray 
Bradshaw  looked  sharply  at  it.  A  little  crumpled, — 
crowded  into  her  pocket.  Seal  unbroken.  All  safe. 

"  I  shall  come  again  to-morrow  forenoon.  Another  day 
and  it  will  be  all  up.  The  decision  of  the  court  will  be 
known.  It  won't  be  my  fault  if  one  visit  is  not  enough. — 
You  don't  suppose  Myrtle  is  in  love  with  this  fellow  ?  " 

"  She  acts  as  if  she  might  be.     You  know  he  's  broke 


384  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

with  Susan  Posey,  and  there  's  nothing  to  hinder.  If  you 
ask  my  opinion,  I  think  it 's  your  last  chance :  she  is  n't  a 
girl  to  half  do  things,  and  if  she  has  taken  to  this  man  it 
will  be  hard  to  make  her  change  her  mind.  But  she  's 
young,  and  she  has  had  a  liking  for  you,  and  if  you  manage 
it  well  there 's  no  telling." 

Two  notes  passed  between  Myrtle  Hazard  and  Master 
Byles  Gridley  that  evening.  Mistress  Kitty  Fagan,  who 
had  kept  her  ears  pretty  wide  open,  carried  them. 

Murray  Bradshaw  went  home  in  a  very  desperate  state 
of  feeling.  He  had  laid  his  plans,  as  he  thought,  with 
perfect  skill,  and  the  certainty  of  their  securing  their  end. 
These  papers  were  to  have  been  taken  from  the  envelope, 
and  found  in  the  garret  just  at  the  right  moment,  either  by 
Cynthia  herself  or  one  of  the  other  members  of  the  family, 
who  was  to  be  led  on,  as  it  were  accidentally,  to  the  dis 
covery.  The  right  moment  must  be  close  at  hand.  He 
was  to  offer  his  hand  —  and  heart,  of  course  —  to  Myrtle, 
and  it  was  to  be  accepted.  As  soon  as  the  decision  of  the 
land  case  was  made  known,  or  not  long  afterwards,  there 
was  to  be  a  search  in  the  garret  for  papers,  and  these  were 
to  be  discovered  in  a  certain  dusty  recess,  where,  of  course, 
they  would  have  been  placed  by  Miss  Cynthia. 

And  now  the  one  condition  which  gave  any  value  to 
these  arrangements  seemed  like  to  fail.  This  obscure 
youth  —  this  poor  fool,  who  had  been  on  the  point  of 
marrying  a  simpleton  to  whom  he  had  made  a  boyish  prom 
ise  —  was  coming  between  him  and  the  object  of  his  long 
pursuit,  —  the  woman  who  had  every  attraction  to  draw 
him  to  herself.  It  had  been  a  matter  of  pride  with  Mur 
ray  Bradshaw  that  he  never  lost  his  temper  so  as  to  inter 
fere  with  the  precise  course  of  action  which  his  cool  judg- 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  385 

ment  approved  ;  but  now  lie  was  almost  beside  himself 
with  passion.  His  labors,  as  he  believed,  had  secured  the 
favorable  issue  of  the  great  case  so  long  pending.  He  had 
followed  Myrtle  through  her  whole  career,  if  not  as  her 
avowed  lover,  at  least  as  one  whose  friendship  promised 
to  flower  in  love  in  due  season.  The  moment  had  come 
when  the  scene  and  the  characters  in  this  village  drama 
were  to  undergo  a  change  as  sudden  and  as  brilliant  as  is 
seen  in  those  fairy  spectacles  where  the  dark  background 
changes  to  a  golden  palace  and  the  sober  dresses  are  re 
placed  by  robes  of  regal  splendor.  The  change  was  fast 
approaching ;  but  he,  the  enchanter,  as  he  had  thought 
himself,  found  his  wand  broken,  and  his  power  given  to 
another. 

He  could  not  sleep  during  that  night.  He  paced  his 
room,  a  prey  to  jealousy  and  envy  and  rage,  which  his  calm 
temperament  had  kept  him  from  feeling  in  their  intensity 
up  to  this  miserable  hour.  He  thought  of  all  that  a  mad 
dened  nature  can  imagine  to  deaden  its  own  intolerable 
angnish.  Of  revenge.  If  Myrtle  rejected  his  suit,  should 
he  take  her  life  on  the  spot,  that  she  might  never  be  anoth 
er's,  —  that  neither  man  nor  woman  should  ever  triumph 
over  him,  —  the  proud  ambitious  man,  defeated,  humbled, 
scorned?  No!  that  was  a  meanness  of  egotism  which 
only  the  most  vulgar  souls  could  be  capable  of.  Should 
he  challenge  her  lover  ?  It  was  not  the  way  of  the  peo 
ple  and  time,  and  ended  in  absurd  complications,  if  any 
body  was  foolish  enough  to  try  it.  Shoot  him  ?  The  idea 
floated  through  his  mind,  for  he  thought  of  everything; 
but  he  was  a  lawyer,  and  not  a  fool,  and  had  no  idea 
of  figuring  in  court  as  a  criminal.  Besides,  he  was  not  a 
murderer,  —  cunning  wras  his  natural  weapon,  not  vio- 
17  T 


386  THE    GUAEDIAN  ANGEL. 

lence.  He  bad  a  certain  admiration  of  desperate  crime  in 
others,  as  showing  nerve  and  force,  but  be  did  ntit'feel  it 
to  be  bis  own  style  of  doing  business. 

During  the  night  he  made  every  arrangement  for  leav 
ing  the  village  the  next  day,  in  case  he  failed  to  make  any 
impression  on  Myrtle  Hazard  and  found  that  his  chance 
was  gone.  He  wrote  a  letter  to  his  partner,  telling  him 
that  be  bad  left  to  join  one  of  the  regiments  forming  in 
the  city.  He  adjusted  all  bis  business  matters  so  that  his 
partner  should  find  as  little  trouble  as  possible.  A  little 
before  dawn  he  threw  himself  on  the  bed,  but  he  could 
not  sleep  ;  and  he  rose  at  sunrise,  and  finished  bis  prepara 
tions  for  his  departure  to  the  city. 

The  morning  dragged  along  slowly.  He  would  not  go 
to  the  office,  not  wishing  to  meet  his  partner  again.  After 
breakfast  he  dressed  himself  with  great  care,  for  he  meant 
to  show  himself  in  the  best  possible  aspect.  Just  before 
he  left  the  house  to  go  to  The  Poplars,  he  took  the  sealed 
package  from  his  trunk,  broke  open  the  envelope,  took 
from  it  a  single  paper,  —  it  had  some  spots  on  it  which 
distinguished  it  from  all  the  rest,  —  put  it  separately  in 
his  pocket,  and  then  the  envelope  containing  the  other 
papers.  The  calm  smile  he  wore  on  his  features  as  he 
set  forth  cost  him  a  greater  effort  than  he  had  ever  made 
before  to  put  it  on.  He  was  moulding  his  face  to  the  look 
with  which  he  meant  to  present  himself;  and  the  muscles 
bad  been  sternly  fixed  so  long  that  it  was  a  task  to  bring 
them  to  their  habitual  expression  in  company,  —  that  of  I 
ingenuous  good-nature.  % 

He  was  shown  into  the  parlor  at  The  Poplars ;  and  I 
Kitty  told  Myrtle  that  he  had  called  and  inquired  for  her, 
and  was  waiting  down  stairs. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  387 

"  Tell  him  I  will  be  down  presently,"  she  said.  "  And, 
Kitty,  now  mind  just  what  I  tell  you.  Leave  your  kitchen 
door  open,  so  that  you  can  hear  anything  fall  in  the  parlor. 
If  you  hear  a  book  fall,  —  it  will  be  a  heavy  one,  and  will 
make  some  noise,  —  run  straight  up  here  to  my  little  cham 
ber,  and  hang  this  red  scarf  out  of  the  window.  The  left- 
hand  side-sash,  mind,  so  that  anybody  can  see  it  from  the 
road.  If  Mr.  Gridley  calls,  show  him  into  the  parlor,  no 
matter  who  is  there." 

Kitty  Fagan  looked  amazingly  intelligent,  and  promised 
that  she  would  do  exactly  as  she  was  told.  Myrtle  fol 
lowed  her  down  stairs  almost  immediately,  and  went  into 
the  parlor,  where  Mr.  Bradshaw  was  waiting. 

Never  in  his  calmest  moments  had  he  worn  a  more  in 
sinuating  smile  on  his  features  than  that  with  which  he  now 
greeted  Myrtle.  So  gentle,  so  gracious,  so  full  of  trust, 
such  a  completely  natural  expression  of  a  kind,  genial 
character  did  it  seem,  that  to  any  but  an  expert  it  would 
have  appeared  impossible  that  such  an  effect  could  be  pro 
duced  by  the  skilful  balancing  of  half  a  dozen  pairs  of 
little  muscles  that  manage  the  lips  and  the  corners  of  the 
mouth.  The  tones  of  his  voice  were  subdued  into  accord 
with  the  look  of  his  features ;  his  whole  manner  was  fas 
cinating,  as  far  as  any  conscious  effort  could  make  it  so. 
It  was  just  one  of  those  artificially  pleasing  effects  that  so 
often  pass  with  such  as  have  little  experience  of  life  for 
the  genuine  expression  of  character  and  feeling.  But 
Myrtle  had  learned  the  look  that  shapes  itself  on  the  fea 
tures  of  one  who  loves  with  a  love  that  seeketh  not  its 
own,  and  she  knew  the  difference  between  acting  and  real 
ity.  She  met  his  insinuating  approach  with  a  courtesy  SQ 
carefully  ordered  that  it  was  of  itself  a  sentence  withoiit 


388  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

appeal.  Artful  persons  often  interpret  sincere  ones  by 
their  own  standard.  Murray  Bradshaw  thought  little  of  I 
this  somewhat  formal  address,  —  a  few  minutes  would  I 
break  this  thin  film  to  pieces.  He  was  not  only  a  suitor 
with  a  prize  to  gain,  he  was  a  colloquial  artist  about  to 
employ  all  the  resources  of  his  specialty. 

He  introduced  the  conversation  in  the  most  natural  and  i 
easy  way,  by  giving  her  the  message  from  a  former  school 
mate  to  which  he  had  referred,  coloring  it  so  delicately, 
as  he  delivered  it,  that  it  became  an  innocent-looking  flat 
tery.  Myrtle  found  herself  in  a  rose-colored  atmosphere, 
not  from  Murray  Bradshaw's  admiration,  as  it  seemed, 
but  only  reflected  by  his  mind  from  another  source.  That 
was  one  of  his  arts,  —  always,  if  possible,  to  associate 
himself  incidentally,  as  it  appeared,  and  unavoidably,  with 
an  agreeable  impression. 

So  Myrtle  was  betrayed  into  smiling  and  being  pleased 
before  he  had  said  a  word  about  himself  or  his  affairs. 
Then  he  told  her  of  the  adventures  and  labors  of  his  late 
expedition  ;  of  certain  evidence  which  at  the  very  last 
moment  he  had  unearthed,  and  which  was  very  probably* 
the  turning-point  in  the  case.  He  could  not  help  feeling 
that  she  must  eventually  reap  some  benefit  from  the  good  i 
fortune  with  which  his  efforts  had  been  attended.  The1 
thought  that  it  might  yet  be  so  had  been  a  great  source 
of  encouragement  to  him,  —  it  would  always  be  a  great! 
happiness  to  him  to  remember  that  he  had  done  anything 
to  make  her  happy. 

Myrtle  was  very  glad  that  he  had  been  so  far  successful, 
—  she  did  not  know  that  it  made  much  difference   to  her, , 
but  she  was  obliged  to  him  for  the  desire  of  serving  her 
that  he  had  expressed. 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  389 

"  My  services  are  always  your?,  Miss  Hazard.  There 
is  no  sacrifice  I  would  not  willingly  make  for  your  benefit. 
I  have  never  had  but  one  feeling  toward  you.  You  can 
not  be  ignorant  of  what  that  feeling  is. 

"  I  know,  Mr.  Bradshaw,  it  has  been  one  of  kindness. 
I  have  to  thank  you  for  many  friendly  attentions,  for  which 
I  hope  I  have  never  been  ungrateful." 

"  Kindness  is  not  all  that  I  feel  towards  you,  Miss 
Hazard.  If  that  were  all,  my  lips  would  not  tremble  as 
they  do  now  in  telling  you  my  feelings.  I  love  you." 

He  sprang  the  great  confession  on  Myrtle  a  little  sooner 
than  he  had  meant.  It  was  so  hard  to  go  on  making 
phrases  !  Myrtle  changed  color  a  little,  for  she  was  startled. 

The  seemingly  involuntary  movement  she  made  brought 
her  arm  against  a  large  dictionary,  which  lay  very  near 
the  edge  of  the  table  on  which  it  was  resting.  The  book 
fell  with  a  loud  noise  to  the  floor. 

There  it  lay.  The  young  man  awaited  her  answer  ; 
he  did  not  think  of  polite  forms  at  such  a  moment. 

"It  cannot  be,  Mr.  Bradshaw,  —  it  must  not  be.  I 
have  known  you  long,  and  I  am  not  ignorant  of  all  your 
brilliant  qualities,  but  you  must  not  speak  to  me  of  love. 
Your  regard,  —  your  friendly  interest,  —  tell  me  that  I 
shall  always  have  these,  but  do  not  distress  me  with  offering 
more  than  these." 

"  I  do  not  ask  you  to  give  me  your  love  in  return ;  I 
only  ask  you  not  to  bid  me  despair.  Let  me  believe  that 
the  time  may  come  when  you  will  listen  to  me,  —  no  mat 
ter  how  distant.  You  are  young,  —  you  have  a  tender 
heart,  —  you  would  not  doom  one  who  only  lives  for  you 
to  wretchedness.  So  long  that  we  have  known  each  other ! 
It  cannot  be  that  any  other  has  come  between  us  —  " 


390  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Myrtle  blushed  so  deeply  that  there  was  no  need  of  his 
finishing  his  question. 

"  Do  you  mean,  Myrtle  Hazard,  that  you  have  cast  me 
aside  for  another?  —  for  this  stranger  —  this  artist  —  who 
was  with  you  yesterday  when  I  came,  bringing  with  me 
the  story  of  all  I  had  done  for  you,  —  yes,  for  you,  —  and 
was  ignominiously  refused  the  privilege  of  seeing  you  ?  " 
Rage  and  jealousy  had  got  the  better  of  him  this  time.  He 
rose  as  he  spoke,  and  looked  upon  her  with  such  passion 
kindling  in  his  eyes  that  he  seemed  ready  for  any  desper 
ate  act. 

"  I  have  thanked  you  for  any  services  you  may  have 
rendered  me,  Mr.  Bradshaw,"  Myrtle  answered,  very 
calmly,  "  and  I  hope  you  will  add  one  more  to  them  by 
sparing  me  this  rude  questioning.  I  wished  to  treat  you 
as  a  friend  ;  I  hope  you  will  not  render  that  impossible." 

He  had  recovered  himself  for  one  more  last  effort.  "  I 
was  impatient :  overlook  it,  I  beg  you.  I  was  thinking  of 
all  the  happiness  I  have  labored  to  secure  for  you,  and  of 
the  ruin  to  us  both  it  would  be  if  you  scornfully  rejected 
the  love  I  offer  you,  —  if  you  refuse  to  leave  me  any  hope 
for  the  future,  —  if  you  insist  on  throwing  yourself  away  on. 
this  man,  so  lately  pledged  to  another.  I  hold  the  key  of 
all  your  earthly  fortunes  in  my  hand.  My  love  for  you 
inspired  me  in  all  that  I  have  done,  and,  now  that  I  come 
to  lay  the  result  of  my  labors  at  your  feet,  you  turn  from 
me,  and  offer  my  reward  to  a  stranger.  I  do  not  ask  you 
to  say  this  day  that  you  will  be  mine,  —  I  would  not  force 
your  inclinations,  —  but  I  do  ask  you  that  you  will  hold 
yourself  free  of  all  others,  and  listen  to  me  as  one  who  may 
yet  be  more  than  a  friend.  Say  so  much  as  this,  Myrtle, 
and  you  shall  have  such  a  future  as  you  never  dreamed  of. 


THE  GUAEDIAN  ANGEL.  391 

Fortune,  position,  all  that  this  world  can  give,  shall  be 
yours ! " 

"  Never !  never !  If  you  could  offer  me  the  whole 
world,  or  take  away  from  me  all  that  the  world  can  give, 
it  would  make  no  difference  to  me.  I  cannot  tell  what 
power  you  hold  over  me,  whether  of  life  and  death,  or  of 
wealth  and  poverty  ;  but  after  talking  to  me  of  love,  I 
should  not  have  thought  you  would  have  wronged  me  by 
suggesting  any  meaner  motive.  It  is  only  because  we 
have  been  on  friendly  terms  so  long  that  I  have  listened  to 
you  as  I  have  done.  You  have  said  more  than  enough, 
and  I  beg  you  will  allow  me  to  put  an  end  to  this  inter 
view." 

She  rose  to  leave  the  room.  But  Murray  Bradshaw 
had  gone  too  far  to  control  himself,  —  he  listened  only  to 
the  rage  which  blinded  him. 

"  Not  yet !  "  he  said.  "  Stay  one  moment,  and  you  shall 
know  what  your  pride  and  self-will  have  cost  you  ! " 

Myrtle  stood,  arrested,  whether  by  fear,  or  curiosity,  or 
the  passive  subjection  of  her  muscles  to  his  imperious  will, 
it  would  be  hard  to  say. 

Murray  Bradshaw  took  out  the  spotted  paper  from  his 
breast-pocket,  and  held  it  up  before  her.  "  Look  here  ! " 
he  exclaimed.  "  This  would  have  made  you  rich,  —  it 
would  have  crowned  you  a  queen  in  society,  —  it  would 
have  given  you  all,  and  more  than  all,  that  you  ever 
dreamed  of  luxury,  of  splendor,  of  enjoyment ;  and  I,  who 
won  it  for  you,  would  have  taught  you  how  to  make  life 
yield  every  bliss  it  had  in  store  to  your  wishes.  You  re 
ject  my  offer  unconditionally  ?  " 

Myrtle  expressed  her  negative  only  by  a  slight  contemp 
tuous  movement. 


392  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Murray  Bradshaw  walked  deliberately  to  the  fireplace, 
and  laid  the  spotted  paper  upon  the  burning  coals.  It 
writhed  and  curled,  blackened,  flamed,  and  in  a  moment 
was  a  cinder  dropping  into  ashes.  He  folded  his  arms, 
and  stood  looking  at  the  wreck  of  Myrtle's  future,  the  work 
of  his  cruel  hand.  Strangely  enough,  Myrtle  herself  was 
fascinated,  as  it  were,  by  the  apparent  solemnity  of  this 
mysterious  sacrifice.  She  had  kept  her  eyes  steadily  on 
him  all  the  time,  and  was  still  gazing  at  the  altar  on  which 
her  happiness  had  been  in  some  way  offered  up,  when  the 
door  was  opened  by  Kitty  Fagan,  and  Master  Byles  Grid- 
ley  was  ushered  into  the  parlor. 

"  Too  late,  old  man  !  "  Murray  Bradshaw  exclaimed,  in 
a  hoarse  and  savage  voice,  as  he  passed  out  of  the  room, 
and  strode  through  the  entry  and  down  the  avenue.  It 
was  the  last  time  the  old  gate  of  The  Poplars  was  to  open 
or  close  for  him.  The  same  day  he  left  the  village  ;  and 
the  next  time  his  name  was  mentioned  it  was  as  an  officer 
in  one  of  the  regiments  just  raised  and  about  marching  to 
the  seat  of  war. 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  393 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

THE    SPOTTED    PAPER. 

WHAT  Master  Gridley  may  have  said  to  Myrtle 
Hazard  that  served  to  calm  her  after  this  exciting 
scene  cannot  now  be  recalled.  That  Murray  Bradshaw 
thought  he  was  inflicting  a  deadly  injury  on  her  was  plain 
enough.  That  Master  Gridley  did  succeed  in  convincing 
her  that  no  great  harm  had  probably  been  done  her  Ls 
equally  certain. 

Like  all  bachelors  who  have  lived  a  lonely  life,  Master 
Byles  Gridley  had  his  habits,  which  nothing  short  of  some 
terrestrial  convulsion  —  or  perhaps,  in  his  case,  some  in 
stinct  that  drove  him  forth  to  help  somebody  in  trouble  — - 
could  possibly  derange.  After  his  breakfast,  he  always  sat 
and  read  awhile,  —  the  paper,  if  a  new  one  came  to  hand, 
or  some  pleasant  old  author, — if  a  little  neglected  by  the 
world  of  readers,  he  felt  more  at  ease  with  him,  and  loved 
him  all  the  better. 

But  on  the  morning  after  his  interview  with  Myrtle 
Hazard,  he  had  received  a  letter  which  made  him  forget 
newspapers,  old  authors,  almost  everything,  for  the  mo 
ment.  It  was  from  the  publisher  with  whom  he  had  had 
a  conversation,  it  may  be  remembered,  when  he  visited  the 
city,  and  was  to  this  effect  :  That  Our  Firm  propose  to 
print  and  stereotype  the  work  originally  published  under 
the  title  of  "  Thoughts  on  the  Universe  " ;  said  work  to 
be  remodelled  according  to  the  plan  suggested  by  the  Au 
thor,  with  the  corrections,  alterations,  omissions,  and  addi- 
17* 


394  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

tions  proposed  by  him  ;  said  work  to  be  published  under 

the  following  title,  to  wit : ;  said  work  to  be 

printed  in  12mo,  on  paper  of  good  quality,  from  new  types, 
etc.,  etc.,  and  for  every  copy  thereof  printed  the  author  to 
receive,  etc.,  etc. 

Master  Gridley  sat  as  in  a  trance,  reading  this  letter 
over  and  over,  to  know  if  it  could  be  really  so.  So  it 
really  was.  His  book  had  disappeared  from  the  market 
long  ago,  as  the  elm  seeds  that  carpet  the  ground  and 
never  germinate  disappear.  At  last  it  had  got  a  certain 
value  as  a  curiosity  for  book-hunters.  Some  one  of  them, 
keener-eyed  than  the  rest,  had  seen  that  there  was  a  mean 
ing  and  virtue  in  this  unsuccessful  book,  for  which  there 
was  a  new  audience  educated  since  it  had  tried  to  breathe 
before  its  time.  Out  of  this  had  grown  at  last  the  publish 
er's  proposal.  It  was  too  much  :  his  heart  swelled  with 
joy,  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears. 

How  could  he  resist  the  temptation  ?  He  took  down  his 
own  particular  copy  of  the  book,  which  was  yet  to  do  him 
honor  as  its  parent,  and  began  reading.  As  his  eye  fell  on 
one  paragraph  after  another,  he  nodded  approval  of  this 
sentiment  or  opinion,  he  shook  his  head  as  if  questioning 
whether  this  other  were  not  to  be  modified  or  left  out,  he 
condemned  a  third  as  being  no  longer  true  for  him  as 
when  it  was  written,  and  he  sanctioned  a  fourth  with  his 
hearty  approval.  The  reader  may  like  a  few  specimens 
from  this  early  edition,  now  a  rarity.  He  shall  have  them, 
with  Master  Gridley's  verbal  comments.  The  book,  as  its 
name  implied,  contained  "  Thoughts  "  rather  than  consecu 
tive  trains  of  reasoning  or  continuous  disquisitions.  What 
he  read  and  remarked  upon  were  a  few  of  the  more  pointed 
statements  which  stood  out  in  the  chapters  he  was  turning 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  395 

over.     The  worth  of  the  book  must  not  be  judged  by  these 
almost  random  specimens. 

"  The  best  thought,  like  the  most  perfect  digestion,  is  done 
unconsciously.  —  Develop  that. — Ideas  at  compound  in 
terest  in  the  mind.  —  Be  aye  sticking  in  an  idea,  —  while 
you  're  sleeping  it'll  be  growing.  Seed  of  a  thought  to 
day,  —  flower  to-morrow —  next  week  —  ten  years  from 
now,  etc.  —  Article  by  and  by  for  the  .... 

"  Can  the  Infinite  be  supposed  to  shift  the  responsibility 
of  the  ultimate  destiny  of  any  created  thing  to  the  finite  ? 
Our  theologians  pretend  that  it  can.  I  doubt.  —  Heretical. 
Stet. 

"  Protestantism  means  None  of  your  business.  But  it  is 
afraid  of  its  own  logic.  —  Stet.  No  logical  resting-place 
short  of  None  of  your  business. 

"  The  supreme  self-indulgence  is  to  surrender  the  will  to 
a  spiritual  director.  —  Protestantism  gave  up  a  great 
luxury.  —  Did  it  though  ? 

"  Asiatic  modes  of  thought  and  speech  do  not  express 
the  relations  in  which  the  American  feels  himself  to  stand  to 
his  Superiors  in  this  or  any  other  sphere  of  being.  Re 
publicanism  must  have  its  own  religious  phraseology,  which 
is  not  that  borrowed  from  Oriental  despotisms. 

"  Idols  and  dogmas  in  place  of  character  ;  pills  and  the 
ories  in  place  of  wholesome  living.  See  the  histories  of 
theology  and  medicine  passim.  —  Hits  'em. 

" '  Of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  Do  you  mean 
to  say,  Jean  Chauvin,  that 

'  Heaven  LIES  about  us  in  our  infancy  '  ? 

"  Why  do  you  complain  of  your  organization  ?  Your 
soul  was  in  a  hurry,  and  made  a  rush  for  a  body.  There 


396  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

are  patient  spirits  that  have  waited  from  eternity,  and 
never  found  parents  jit  to  be  born  of.  —  How  do  you  know 
anything  about  all  that?  Dele. 

"  What  sweet,  smooth  voices  the  negroes  have !  A  hun 
dred  generations  fed  on  bananas.  —  Compare  them  with 
our  apple-eating  white  folks  !  —  It  won't  do.  Bananas 
came  from  the  AVest  Indies. 

"  To  tell  a  man's  temperament  by  his  handwriting.  See 
if  the  dots  of  his  i's  run  ahead  or  not,  and  if  they  do,  how 
far.  —  I  have  tried  that — on  myself. 

"  Marrying  into  some  families  is  the  next  thing  to  being 
canonized.  —  Not  so  true  now  as  twenty  or  thirty  years 
ago.  As  many  bladders,  but  more  pins. 

"  Fish  and  dandies  only  keep  on  ice.  —  Who  will  take  ? 
Explain  in  note  how  all  warmth  approaching  blood  heat 
spoils  fops  and  flounders. 

"  Flying  is  a  lost  art  among  men  and  reptiles.  Bats  fly, 
and  men  ought  to.  Try  a  light  turbine.  Rise  a  mile 
straight,  fall  half  a  mile  slanting,  —  rise  half  a  mile 
straight,  fall  half  a  mile  slanting,  and  so  on.  Or  slant  up 
and  slant  down.  —  Poh  !  You  ain't  such  a  fool  as  "to  think 
that  is  new,  —  are  you  ? 

"  Put  in  my  telegraph  project.  Central  station.  Cables 
with  insulated  wires  running  to  it  from  different  quarters 
of  the  city.  These  form  the  centripetal  system.  From 
central  station,  wires  to  all  the  livery  stables,  messenger 
stands,  provision  shops,  etc.,  etc.  These  form  the  centrifu 
gal  system.  Any  house  may  have  a  wire  in  the  nearest 
cable  at  small  cost. 

"  Do  you  want  to  be  remembered  after  the  continents  have 
gone  under,  and  come  up  again,  and  dried,  and  bred  new 
races?  Have  your  name  stamped  on  all  your  plates  and 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  397 

cups  and  saucers.  Nothing  of  you  or  yours  will  last  like 
those.  I  never  sit  down  at  my  table  without  looking  at  the 
china  service,  and  saying,  l  Here  are  my  monuments. 
That  hitter-dish  is  my  urn.  This  soup-plate  is  my  memo 
rial  tablet.'  —  No  need  of  a  skeleton  at  my  banquets !  I 
feed  from  my  tombstone  and  read  my  epitaph  at  the  bot 
tom  of  every  teacup.  —  Good." 

He  fell  irfto  a  revery  as  he  finished  reading  this  last 
sentence.  He  thought  of  the  dim  and  dread  future,  —  all 
the  changes  that  it  would  bring  to  him,  to  all  the  living, 
to  the  face  of  the  globe,  to  the  order  of  earthly  things. 
He  saw  men  of  a  new  race,  alien  to  all  that  had  ever  lived, 
excavating  with  strange,  vast  engines  the  old  ocean-bed 
now  become  habitable  land.  And  as  the  great  scoops 
turned  out  the  earth  they  had  fetched  up  from  the  unex 
plored  depths,  a  relic  of  a  former  simple  civilization  re 
vealed  the  fact  that  here  a  tribe  of  human  beings  had 
lived  and  perished.  —  Only  the  coffee-cup  he  had  in  his 
hand  half  an  hour  ago.  —  Where  would  he  be  then  ?  and 
Mrs.  Hopkins,  and  Gifted,  and  Susan,  and  everybody  ? 
and  President  Buchanan  ?  and  the  Boston  State-House  ? 
and  Broadway  ?  —  O  Lord,  Lord,  Lord  !  And  the  sun 
perceptibly  smaller,  according  to  the  astronomers,  and  the 
earth  cooled  down  a  number  of  degrees,  and  inconceivable 
arts  practised  by  men  of  a  type  yet  undreamed  of,  and  all 
the  fighting  creeds  merged  in  one  great  universal  — 

A  knock  at  his  door  interrupted  his  revery.  Miss  Su 
san  Posey  informed  him  that  a  gentleman  was  waiting  be 
low  who  wished  to  see  him. 

"  Show  him  up  to  my  study,  Susan  Posey,  if  you  plea?e," 
said  Master  Gridley. 


398  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Mr.  Penhallow  presented  himself  at  Mr.  Gridley's  door, 
with  a  countenance  expressive  of  a  very  high  state  of  ex 
citement. 

"  You  have  heard  the  news,  Mr.  Gridley,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  What  news,  Mr.  Penhallow  ?" 

"  First,  that  my  partner  has  left  very  unexpectedly  to 
enlist  in  a  regiment  just  forming.  Second,  that  the  great 
land-case  is  decided  in  favor  of  the  heirs  of  the  late  Mal- 
achi  Withers." 

"  Your  partner  must  have  known  about  it  yesterday?" 

"  He  did,  even  before  I  knew  it.  He  thought  himself 
possessed  of  a  very  important  document,  as  you  know,  of 
which  he  has  made,  or  means  to  make,  some  use.  You 
are  aware  of  the  artifice  I  employed  to  prevent  any  pos 
sible  evil  consequences  from  any  action  of  his.  I  have  the 
genuine  document,  of  course.  I  wish  you  to  go  over  with 
me  to  The  Poplars,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  have  good 
old  Father  Pemberton  go  with  us  ;  for  it  is  a  serious  mat 
ter,  and  will  be  a  great  surprise  to  more  than  one  of  the 
family. 

They  walked  together  to  the  old  house,  where  the  old 
clergyman  had  lived  for  more  than  half  a  century.  He 
was  used  to  being  neglected  by  the  people  who  ran  after 
his  younger  colleague;  and  the  attention  paid  him  in 
asking  him  to  be  present  on  an  important  occasion,  as  he 
understood  this  to  be,  pleased  him  greatly.  He  smoothed 
his  long  white  locks,  and  called  a  granddaughter  to  help 
make  him  look  fitly  for  such  an  occasion,  and,  being  at  last 
got  into  his  grandest  Sunday  aspect,  took  his  faithful  staff, 
and  set  out  with  the  two  gentlemen  for  The  Poplars.  On 
the  way,  Mr.  Penhallow  explained  to  him  the  occasion  of 
their  visit,  and  the  general  character  of  the  facts  he  had  to 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  399 

announce.  He  wished  the  venerable  minister  to  prepare 
Miss  Silence  Withers  for  a  revelation  which  would  mate 
rially  change  her  future  prospects.  He  thought  it  might 
be  well,  also,  if  he  would  say  a  few  words  to  Myrtle  Haz 
ard,  for  whom  a  new  life,  with  new  and  untried  tempta 
tions,  was  about  to  open.  His  business  was,  as  a  lawyer, 
to  make  known  to  these  parties  the  facts  just  come  to  his 
own  knowledge  affecting  their  interests.  He  had  asked 
Mr.  Gridley  to  go  with  him,  as  having  intimate  relations 
with  one  of  the  parties  referred  to,  and  as  having  been  the 
principal  agent  in  securing  to  that  party  the  advantages 
which  were  to  accrue  to  her  from  the  new  turn  of  events. 
"  You  are  a  second  parent  to  her,  Mr.  Gridley,"  he  said. 
"  Your  vigilance,  your  shrewdness,  and  your  —  spectacles 
have  saved  her.  I  hope  she  knows  the  full  extent  of  her  ob 
ligations  to  you,  and  that  she  will  always  look  to  you  for 
counsel  in  all  her  needs.  She  will  want  a  wise  friend,  for 
she  is  to  begin  the  world  anew." 

What  had  happened,  when  she  saw  the  three  grave  gen 
tlemen  at  the  door  early  in  the  forenoon,  Mistress  Kitty 
Fagan  could  not  guess.  Something  relating  to  Miss  Myr 
tle,  no  doubt :  she  was  n't  goin'  to  be  married  right  off  to 
Mr.  Clement,  —  was  she,  —  and  no  church,  nor  cake,  nor 
anything?  The  gentlemen  were  shown  into  the  parlor. 
"  Ask  Miss  Withers  to  go  into  the  library,  Kitty,"  said 
Master  Gridley.  "  Dr.  Pemberton  wishes  to  speak  with 
her."  The  good  old  man  was  prepared  for  a  scene  with 
Miss  Silence.  He  announced  to  her,  in  a  kind  and  deli 
cate  way,  that  she  must  make  up  her  mind  to  the  disap 
pointment  of  certain  expectations  which  she  had  long 
entertained,  and  which,  as  her  lawyer,  Mr.  Penhallow, 
had  come  to  inform  her  and  others,  were  to  be  finally  re 
linquished  from  this  hour. 


400  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

To  his  great  surprise,  Miss  Silence  received  this  com 
munication  almost  cheerfully.  It  seemed  more  like  a  relief 
to  her  than  anything  else.  Her  one  dread  in  this  world 
was  her  "  responsibility  " ;  and  the  thought  that  she  might 
have  to  account  for  ten  talents  hereafter,  instead  of  one, 
had  often  of  late  been  a  positive  distress  to  her.  There  was 
also  in  her  mind  a  secret  disgust  at  the  thought  of  the  hun 
gry  creatures  who  would  swarm  round  her  if  she  should 
ever  be  in  a  position  to  bestow  patronage.  This  had 
grown  upon  her  as  the  habits  of  lonely  life  gave  her  more 
and  more  of  that  fastidious  dislike  to  males  in  general,  as 
such,  which  is  not  rare  in  maidens  who  have  seen  the  roses 
of  more  summers  than  politeness  cares  to  mention. 

Father  Pembertou  then  asked  if  he  could  see  Miss  Myr 
tle  Hazard  a  few  moments  in  the  library  before  they  went 
into  the  parlor,  where  they  were  to  meet  Mr.  Penhallow 
and  Mr.  Gridley,  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  lawyer's 
communication. 

What  change  was  this  which  Myrtle  had  undergone 
since  love  had  touched  her  heart,  and  her  visions  of  world 
ly  enjoyment  had  faded  before  the  thought  of  sharing  and 
ennobling  the  life  of  one  who  was  worthy  of  her  best  affec 
tions,  —  of  living  for  another,  and  of  finding  her  own 
noblest  self  in  that  divine  office  of  woman  ?  She  had  laid 
aside  the  bracelet  which  she  had  so  long  worn  as  a  kind 
of  charm  as  well  as  an  ornament.  One  would  have  said 
her  features  had  lost  something  of  that  look  of  imperious 
beauty  which  had  added  to  her  resemblance  to  the  dead 
woman  whose  glowing  portrait  hung  upon  her  wall.  And 
if  it  could  be  that,  after  so  many,  generations,  the  blood  of 
her  who  had  died  for  her  faith  could  show  in  her  descend 
ant's  veins,  and  the  soul  of  that  elect  lady  of  her  race 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  401 

look  out  from  her  far-removed  offspring's  dark  eyes,  such 
a  transfusion  of  the  martyr's  life  and  spiritual  being  might 
well  seem  to  manifest  itself  in  Myrtle  Hazard. 

The  large-hearted  old  man  forgot  his  scholastic  theory 
of  human  nature  as  he  looked  upon  her  face.  He  thought 
he  saw  in  her  the  dawning  of  that  grace  which  some  are 
born  with ;  which  some,  like  Myrtle,  only  reach  through 
many  trials  and  dangers ;  which  some  seem  to  show  for  a 
while  and  then  lose  ;  which  too  many  never  reach  while 
they  wear  the  robes  of  earth,  but  which  speaks  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  already  begun  in  the  heart  of  a  child 
of  earth.  He  told  her  simply  the  story  of  the  occurrences 
which  had  brought  them  together  in  the  old  house,  with 
the  message  the  lawyer  was  to  deliver  to  its  inmates.  He 
wished  to  prepare  her  for  what  might  have  been  too  sud 
den  a  surprise. 

But  Myrtle  was  not  wholly  unprepared  for  some  such 
revelation.  There  was  little  danger  that  any  such  an 
nouncement  would  throw  her  mind  from  its  balance  after 
the  inward  conflict  though  which  she  had  been  passing. 
For  her  lover  had  left  her  almost  as  soon  as  he  had  told 
her  the  story  of  his  passion,  and  the  relation  in  which  he 
stood  to  her.  He,  too,  had  gone  to  answer  his  country's  call 
to  her  children,  not  driven  away  by  crime  and  shame  and 
despair,  but  quitting  all  —  his  new-born  happiness,  the  art 
in  which  he  was  an  enthusiast,  his  prospects  of  success  and 
honor  —  to  obey  the  higher  command  of  duty.  War  was 
to  him,  as  to  so  many  of  the  noble  youth  who  went  forth, 
only  organized  barbarism,  hateful  but  for  the  sacred  cause 
which  alone  redeemed  it  from  the  curse  that  blasted  the 
first  murderer.  God  only  knew  the  sacrifice  such  young 
men  as  he  made.  . 

z 


402  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

How  brief  Myrtle's  dream  had  been !  She  almost 
doubted,  at  some  moments,  whether  she  would  not  awake 
from  it,  as  from  her  other  visions,  and  find  it  all  unreal. 
There  was  no  need  of  fearing  any  undue  excitement  of  her 
mind  after  the  alternations  of  feeling  she  had  just  experi 
enced.  Nothing  seemed  of  much  moment  to  her  which 
could  come  from  without,  —  her  real  world  was  within, 
and  the  light  of  its  day  and  the  breath  of  its  life  came  from 
her  love,  made  holy  by  the  self-forgetfulness  on  both  sides 
which  was  born  with  it. 

Only  one  member  of  the  household  was  in  danger  of 
finding  the  excitement  more  than  she  could  bear.  Miss 
Cynthia  knew  that  all  Murray  Bradshaw's  plans,  in  which 
he  had  taken  care  that  she  should  have  a  personal  interest, 
had  utterly  failed.  What  he  had  done  with  the  means  of 
revenge  in  his  power,  —  if,  indeed,  they  were  still  in  Ids 
power,  —  she  did  not  know.  She  only  knew  that  there 
had  been  a  terrible  scene,  and  that  he  had  gone,  leaving  it 
uncertain  whether  he  would  ever  return.  It  was  with 
fear  and  trembling  that  she  heard  the  summons  which  went 
forth,  that  the  whole  family  should  meet  in  the  parlor  to 
listen  to  a  statement  from  Mr.  Penhallow.  They  all 
gathered  as  requested,  and  sat  round  the  room,  with  the 
exception  of  Mistress  Kitty  Fagan,  who  knew  her  place 
too  well  to  be  sittin'  down  with  the  likes  o'  them,  and 
stood  with  attentive  ears  in  the  doorway. 

Mr.  Penhallow  then  read  from  a  printed  paper  the  de 
cision  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  land-case  so  long  pend 
ing,  where  the  estate  of  the  late  Malachi  Withers  was  the 
claimant,  against  certain  parties  pretending  to  hold  under 
an  ancient  grant.  The  decision  was  in  favor  of  the  estate. 

"  This  gives  a  great  property  to  the  heirs,"  Mr.  Penhal- 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  403 

low  remarked,  "  and  the  question  as  to  who  these  heirs  are 
has  to  be  opened.  For  the  will  under  which  Silence 
Withers,  sister  of  the  deceased,  has  inherited,  is  dated 
some  years  previous  to  the  decease,  and  it  was  not  very- 
strange  that  a  will  of  later  date  should  be  discovered.  Such 
a  will  has  been  discovered.  It  is  the  instrument  I  have 
here." 

Myrtle  Hazard  opened  her  eyes  very  widely,  for  the 
paper  Mr.  Penhallow  held  looked  exactly  like  that  which 
Murray  Bradshaw  had  burned,  and,  what  was  curious,  had 
some  spots  on  it  just  like  some  she  had  noticed  on  that. 

"  This  will,"  Mr.  Penhallow  said,  "  signed  by  witnesses 
dead  or  absent  from  this  place,  makes  a  disposition  of  the 
testator's  property  in  some  respects  similar  to  that  of  the 
previous  one,  but  with  a  single  change,  which  proves  to  be 
of  very  great  importance." 

Mr.  Penhallow  proceeded  to  read  the  will.  The  im 
portant  change  in  the  disposition  of  the  property  was 
this.  In  case  the  land-claim  was  decided  in  favor  of  the 
estate,  then,  in  addition  to  the  small  provision  made  for 
Myrtle  Hazard,  the  property  so  coming  to  the  estate 
should  all  go  to  her.  There  was  no  question  about  the 
genuineness  and  the  legal  sufficiency  of  this  instrument. 
Its  date  was  not  very  long  after  the  preceding  one,  at  a 
period  when,  as  was  well  known,  he  had  almost  given  up 
the  hope  of  gaining  his  case,  and  when  the  property  was 
of  little  value  compared  to  that  which  it  had  at  present. 

A  long  silence  followed  this  reading.  Then,  to  the  sur 
prise  of  all,  Miss  Silence  Withers  rose,  and  went  to  Myr 
tle  Hazard,  and  wished  her  joy  with  every  appearance  of 
sincerity.  She  was  relieved  of  a  great  responsibility. 
Myrtle  was  young  and  could  bear  it  better.  She  hoped 


404  THE   GUARDIAN   AXGEL. 

that  her  young  relative  would  live  long  to  enjoy  the  bless 
ings  Providence  had  bestowed  upon  her,  and  to  use  them 
for  the  good  of  the  community,  and  especially  the  promotion 
of  the  education  of  deserving  youth.  If  some  fitting  per 
son  could  be  found  to  advise  Myrtle,  whose  affairs  would 
require  much  care,  it  would  be  a  great  relief  to  her. 

They  all  went  up  to  Myrtle  and  congratulated  her  on  her 
change  of  fortune.  Even  Cynthia  Badlam  got  out  a  phrase 
or  two  which,  passed  muster  in  the  midst  of  the  general 
excitement.  As  for  Kitty  Fagan,  she  could  not  say  a 
word,  but  caught  Myrtle's  hand  and  kissed  it  as  if  it  be 
longed  to  her  own  saint,  and  then,  suddenly  applying  her 
apron  to  her  eyes,  retreated  from  a  scene  which  was  too 
much  for  her,  in  a  state  of  complete  mental  beatitude  and 
total  bodily  discomfiture. 

Then  Silence  asked  the  old  minister  to  make  a  prayer, 
and  he  stretched  his  hands  up  to  Heaven,  and  called  down 
all  the  blessings  of  Providence  upon  all  the  household,  and 
especially  upon  this  young  handmaiden,  who  was  to  be 
tried  with  prosperity,  and  would  need  all  aid  from  above 
to  keep  her  from  its  dangers. 

Then  Mr.  Penhallow  asked  Myrtle  if  she  had  any 
choice  as  to  the  friend  who  should  have  charge  of  her 
affairs. 

Myrtle  turned  to  Master  Byles  Gridley,  and  said,  "  You 
have  been  my  friend  and  protector  so  far,  —  will  you  con 
tinue  to  be  so  hereafter  ?  " 

Master  Gridley  tried  very  hard  to  begin  a  few  words 
of  thanks  to  her  for  her  preference,  but  finding  his  voice  a 
little  uncertain,  contented  himself  with  pressing  her  hand 
and  saying,  "•  Most  willingly,  my  dear  daughter !  " 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  405 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

CONCLUSION. 

THE  same  day  the  great  news  of  Myrtle  Hazard's 
accession  to  fortune  came  out,  the  secret  was  told 
that  she  had  promised  herself  in  marriage  to  Mr.  Clement 
Lindsay.  But  her  friends  hardly  knew  how  to  congratu 
late  her  on  this  last  event.  Her  lover  was  gone,  to  risk 
his  life,  not  improbably  to  lose  it,  or  to  come  home  a  wreck, 
crippled  by  wounds,  or  worn  out  with  disease. 

Some  of  them  wondered  to  see  her  so  cheerful  in  such 
a  moment  of  trial.  They  could  not  know  how  the  manly 
strength  of  Clement's  determination  had  nerved  her  for 
womanly  endurance.  They  had  not  learned  that  a  great 
cause  makes  great  souls,  or  reveals  them  to  themselves, — 
a  lesson  taught  by  so  many  noble  examples  in  the  times 
that  followed.  Myrtle's  only  desire  seemed  to  be  to  la 
bor  in  some  way  to  help  the  soldiers  and  their  families. 
She  appeared  to  have  forgotten  everything  for  this 
duty ;  she  had  no  time  for  regrets,  if  she  were  disposed  to 
indulge  them,  and  she  hardly  asked  a  question  as  to  the 
extent  of  the  fortune  which  had  fallen  to  her. 

The  next  number  of  the  "  Banner  and  Oracle "  con 
tained  two  announcements  which  she  read  with  some  in 
terest  when  her  attention  was  called  to  them.  They  were 
as  follows :  — 

"  A  fair  and  accomplished  daughter  of  this  village  comes,  by  the  late  decision 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  into  possession  of  a  property  estimated  at  a  million  of 
dollars  or  more.  It  consists  of  a  large  tract  of  land  purchased  many  years  ago 
by  the  late  Molachi  Withera,  now  become  of  Immense  value  by  the  growth  of  a 
city  in  its  neighborhood,  the  opening  of  mines,  etc.,  etc.  It  is  rumored  that  the 


406  THE  GUARDIAN  AXGEL. 

lovely  and  highly  educated  heiress  has  formed  a  connection  looking  towards  mat 
rimony  \vitb  a  certain  distinguished  artist." 

"  Our  distinguished  young  townsman,  William  Murray  Bradshaw,  Esq.,  has 
been  among  the  first  to  respond  to  the  call  of  the  country  for  champions  to  de 
fend  her  from  traitors.  We  understand  that  he  has  obtained  a  captaincy  in  the 
— th  Regiment,  about  to  march  to  the  threatened  seat  of  war.  May  victory  perch 
ou  his  banners  !  " 

The  two  lovers,  parted  by  their  own  self-sacrificing 
choice  in  the  very  hour  that  promised  to  bring  them  so 
much  happiness,  labored  for  the  common  cause  during  all 
the  terrible  years  of  warfare,  one  in  the  camp  and  the 
field,  the  other  in  the  not  less  needful  work  which  the  good 
women  carried  on  at  home,  or  wherever  their  services 
were  needed.  Clement  —  now  Captain  Lindsay  —  re 
turned  at  the  end  of  his  first  campaign  charged  with  a 
special  office.  Some  months  later,  after  one  of  the  great 
battles,  he  was  sent  home  wounded.  He  wore  the  leaf  on 
his  shoulder  which  entitled  him  to  be  called  Major  Lind 
say.  He  recovered  from  his  wound  only  too  rapidly,  for 
Myrtle  had  visited  him  daily  in  the  military  hospital 
where  he  had  resided  for  treatment ;  and  it  was  bitter 
parting.  The  telegraph  wires  were  thrilling  almost  hourly 
with  messages  of  death,  and  the  long  pine  boxes  came 
by  almost  every  train,  —  no  need  of  asking  what  they 
held! 

Once  more  he  came,  detailed  on  special  duty,  and  this 
time  with  the  eagle  on  his  shoulder,  —  he  was  Colonel 
Lindsay.  The  lovers  could  not  part  again  of  their  own 
free  will.  Some  adventurous  women  had  followed  their 
husbands  to  the  camp,  and  Myrtle  looked  as  if  she  could 
play  the  part  of  the  Maid  of  Saragossa  on  occasion.  So 
Clement  asked  her  if  she  would  return  with  him  as  his 
wife  ;  and  Myrtle  answered,  with  as  much  willingness  to 
submit  as  a  maiden  might  fairly  show  under  such  circum- 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  407 

stances,  that  she  would  do  his  bidding.  Thereupon,  with 
the  shortest  possible  legal  notice,  Father  Pemberton  was 
sent  for,  and  the  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  presence 
of  a  few  witnesses  in  the  large  parlor  at  The  Poplars, 
which  was  adorned  with  flowers,  and  hung  round  with  all 
the  portraits  of  the  dead  members  of  the  family,  summoned 
as  witnesses  to  the  celebration.  One  witness  looked  on 
with  unmoved  features,  yet  Myrtle  thought  there  was  a 
more  heavenly  smile  on  her  faded  lips  than  she  had  ever 
seen  before  beaming  from  the  canvas,  —  it  was  Ann  Hol- 
yoake,  the  martyr  to  her  faith,  the  guardian  spirit  of  Myrtle's 
visions,  who  seemed  to  breathe  a  holier  benediction  than 
any  words  —  even"  those  of  the  good  old  Father  Pember 
ton  himself —  could  convey. 

They  went  back  together  to  the  camp.  From  that  period 
until  the  end  of  the  war,  Myrtle  passed  her  time  between 
the  life  of  the  tent  and  that  of  the  hospital.  In  the  offices 
of  mercy  which  she  performed  for  the  sick  and  the  wounded 
and  the  dying,  the  dross  of  her  nature  seemed  to  be  burned 
away.  The  conflict  of  mingled  lives  in  her  blood  had 
ceased.  No  lawless  impulses  usurped  the  place  of  that 
serene  resolve  which  had  grown  strong  by  every  exercise 
of  its  high  prerogative.  If  she  had  been  called  now  to  die 
for  any  worthy  cause,  her  race  would  have  been  ennobled 
by  a  second  martyr,  true  to  the  blood  of  her  who  died  un 
der  the  cruel  Queen. 

Many  ?ad  sights  she  saw  in  the  great  hospital  where 
she  passed  some  months  at  intervals,  —  one  never  to  be 
forgotten.  An  officer  was  brought  into  the  ward  where 
she  was  in  attendance.  "  Shot  through  the  lungs,  —  pretty 
nearly  gone." 

She  went  softly  to  his  bedside.     He  was  breathing  with 


408  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

great  difficulty  ;  his  face  was  almost  convulsed  with  the 
effort,  but  she  recognized  him  in  a  moment ;  it  was  Mur 
ray  Bradshaw,  —  Captain  Bradshaw,  —  as  she  knew  by 
the  bars  on  his  coat  flung  upon  the  bed  where  he  had  just 
been  laid. 

She  addressed  him  by  name,  tenderly  as  if  he  had  been 
a  dear  brother ;  she  saw  on  his  face  that  hers  were  to  be 
the  last  kind  words  he  would  ever  hear. 

He  turned  his  glazing  eyes  upon  her.  "  Who  are  you  ?" 
he  said  in  a  feeble  voice. 

"  An  old  friend,"  she  answered  ;  "  you  knew  me  as  Myr 
tle  Hazard." 

He  started.  "  You  by  my  bedside  !  You  caring  for 
me !  —  for  me,  that  burned  the  title  to  your  fortune  to 
ashes  before  your  eyes  !  You  can't  forgive  that,  —  I 
won't  believe  it !  Don't  you  hate  me,  dying  as  I  am  ?  " 

Myrtle  was  used  to  maintaining  a  perfect  calmness  of 
voice  and  countenance,  and  she  held  her  feelings  firmly 
down.  "  I  have  nothing  to  forgive  you,  Mr.  Bradshaw. 
You  may  have  meant  to  do  me  wrong,  but  Providence 
raised  up  a  protector  for  me.  The  paper  you  burned  was 
not  the  original,  —  it  was  a  copy  substituted  for  it  —  " 

"  And  did  the  old  man  outwit  me  after  all  ?  "  he  cried 
out,  rising  suddenly  in  bed,  and  clasping  his  hands  behind 
his  head  to  give  him  a  few  more  gasps  of  breath.  "  I 
knew  he  was  cunning,  but  I  thought  I  was  his  match.  It 
must  have  been  Byles  Gridley,  —  nobody  else.  And  so 
the  old  man  beat  me  after  all,  and  saved  you  from  ruin  ! 
Thank  God  that  it  came  out  so  !  Thank  God !  I  can  die 
now.  Give  me  your  hand,  Myrtle." 

She  took  his  hand,  and  held  it  until  it  gently  loosed  its 
hold,  and  he  ceased  to  breathe.  Myrtle's  creed  was  a  sim- 


THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL.  409 

pie  one,  with  more  of  trust  and  love  in  it  than  of  systema 
tized  articles  of  belief.  She  cherished  the  fond  hope  that 
these  last  words  of  one  who  had  erred  so  miserably  were  a 
token  of  some  blessed  change  which  the  influences  of  the 
better  world  might  carry  onward  until  he  should  have 
outgrown  the  sins  and  the  weaknesses  of  his  earthly 
career. 

Soon  after  this  she  rejoined  her  husband  in  the  camp. 
From  time  to  time  they  received  stray  copies  of  the  "  Ban 
ner  and  Oracle,"  which,  to  Myrtle  especially,  were  full  of 
interest,  even  to  the  last  advertisement.  A  few  paragraphs 
may  be  reproduced  here  which  relate  to  persons  who  have 
figured  in  this  narrative. 

"  TEMPLE  OF  UYMEN. 

"Married,  on  the  6th  instant,  Fordyce  Ilurlbut,  M.D.,  to  Olive,  only  daugh 
ter  of  the  Rev.  Ambrose  Eveleth.  The  editor  of  this  paper  returns  his  ac 
knowledgments  for  a  bountiful  slice  of  the  wedding-cake.  May  their  shadows 
never  be  less!  " 

Not  many  weeks  after  this  appeared  the  following :  — 

"  Died  in  this  place,  on  the  28th  instant,  the  venerable  Lemuel  Hurlbut,  M.  D., 
at  the  great  age  of  XCVI  years. 

"  '  With  the  ancient  is  wisdom,  and  in  length  of  days  understanding.'  " 

Myrtle  recalled  his  kind  care  of  her  in  her  illness,  and 
paid  the  tribute  of  a  sigh  to  his  memory,  —  there  was  noth 
ing  in  a  death  like  his  to  call  for  any  aching  regret. 

The  usual  routine  of  small  occurrences  was  duly  re 
corded  in  the  village  paper  for  some  weeks  longer,  when 
she  was  startled  and  shocked  by  receiving  a  number  con 
taining  the  following  paragraph  :  — 

"  CALAMITOUS  ACCIDENT ! 

"  It  is  known  to  our  readers  that  the  steeple  of  the  old  meeting-house  vras 
struck  by  lightning  about  a  month  ago.  The  frame  of  the  building  was  a  good 
deal  jarred  by  the  shock,  but  no  danger  was  apprehended  from  the  injury  it  had 
received.  On  Sunday  last  the  congregation  came  together  as  usual.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Stoker  was  alone  in  the  pulpit,  the  Rev.  Doctor  Feciberton  having  been 
detained  by  slight  indisposition.  The  sermon  was  from  the  text,  '  The  wolf  alto 

13 


410  THE   GUARDIAN   ANGEL. 

shall  dwell  with  the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  shall  lie  down  with  the  Icid."1  ;I<aiah 
xi.  6.)  The  pastor  described  the  millennium  as  the  reign  of  love  and  peace,  in 
eloquent  and  impressive  language.  He  was  in  the  midst  of  the  prayer  which  fol 
lows  the  sermon,  and  had  just  put  up  a  petition  that  the  spirit  of  affection  and 
faith  and  trust  might  prow  up  and  prevail  among  the  flock  of  which  he  was  the 
shepherd,  more  especially  those  dear  lambs  whom  he  gathered  with  his  arm, 
and  carried  in  his  bosom,  when  the  old  sounding-board,  which  had  hung  safely 
for  nearly  a  century,  — loosened,  no  doubt  by  the  bolt  which  had  fallen  on  the 
church, —  broke  from  its  fastenings,  and  fell  with  a  loud  crash  upon  the  pul 
pit,  crushing  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stoker  under  its  ruins.  The  scene  that  followed 
beggars  description.  Cries  and  shrieks  resounded  through  the  house.  Two  or 
three  young  women  fainted  entirely  away.  Mr.  Penliallow,  Deacon  Rumrill, 
Gifted  Hopkins,  Esq.,  and  others,  came  forward  immediately,  and  after  much 
effort  succeeded  in  removing  the  wreck  of  the  sounding-board,  and  extricating 
their  unfortunate  pastor.  He  was  not  fatally  injured,  it  is  hoped  ;  but,  sad  to  re 
late,  he  received  such  a  violent  blow  upon  the  spine  of  the  back,  that  palsy  of 
the  lower  extremities  is  like  to  ensue.  He  is  at  present  lying  entirely  helpless. 
Every  attention  is  paid  to  him  by  his  affectionately  devoted  family." 

Myrtle  had  hardly  got  over  the  pain  which  the  reading 
of  this  unfortunate  occurrence  gave  her,  when  her  eyes 
were  gladdened  by  the  following  pleasing  piece  of  intelli 
gence,  contained  in  a  subsequent  number  of  the  village 
paper : — 

"  IMPOSING  CEREMONY. 

"  The  Reverend  Doctor  Pemberton  performed  the  impressive  rite  of  baptism 
upon  the  first-born  child  of  our  distinguished  townsman,  Gifted  Hopkins,  Esq.. 
the  Hard  of  Oxbow  Village,  and  Mrs.  Susan  P.  Hopkins,  his  amiable  and 
respected  lady.  The  babe  conducted  himself  with  singular  propriety  on  this 
occasion.  He  received  the  Christian  name  of  Byron  Tennyson  Browning.  May 
he  prove  worthy  of  his  name  and  his  parentage!  " 

The  end  of  the  war  came  at  last,  and  found  Colonel 
Lindsay  among  its  unharmed  survivors.  He  returned 
with  Myrtle  to  her  native  village,  and  they  established 
themselves,  at  the  request  of  Miss  Silence  Withers,  in  the 
old  family  mansion.  Miss  Cynthia,  to  whom  Myrtle  made 
a  generous  allowance,  had  gone  to  live  in  a  town  not  many 
miles  distant,  where  she  had  a  kind  of  home  on  sufferance, 
as  well  as  at  The  Poplars.  This  was  a  convenience  just 
then,  because  Nurse  Byloe  was  invited  to  stay  with  them 
for  a  month  or  two ;  and  one  nurse  and  two  single  women 
under  the  same  roof  keep  each  other  in  a  stew  all  the  time, 
as  the  old  dame  somewhat  sharply  remarked. 

Master  Byles  Gridley  had  been  appointed  Myrtle's  legal 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  411 

protector,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Penhallow,  had 
brought  the  property  she  inherited  into  a  more  manageable 
and  productive  form  ;  so  that,  when  Clement  began  his 
fine  studio  behind  the  old  mansion,  he  felt  that  at  least  he 
could  pursue  his  art,  or  arts,  if  he  chose  to  give  himself  to 
sculpture,  without  that  dreadful  hag,  Necessity,  standing  by 
him  to  pinch  the  features  of  all  his  ideals,  and  give  them 
something  of  her  own  likeness. 

Silence  Withers  was  more  cheerful  now  that  she  had  got 
rid  of  her  responsibility,.  She  embellished  her  spare  per 
son  a  little  more  than  in  former  years.  These  young  peo 
ple  looked  so  happy !  Love,  was  not  so  unendurable, 
perhaps,  after  all.  No  woman  need  despair,  —  especially 
if  she  has  a  house  over  her,  and  a  snug  little  property.  A 
worthy  man,  a  former  missionary,  of  the  best  principles, 
but  of  a  slightly  jocose  and  good-humored  habit,  thought 
that  he  could  piece  his  widowed  years  with  the  not  insigni 
ficant  fraction  of  life  left  to  Miss  Silence,  to  their  mutual 
advantage.  He  came  to  the  village,  therefore,  where 
Father  Pemberton  was  very  glad  to  have  him  supply  the 
pulpit  in  the  place  of  his  unfortunate  disabled  colleague. 
The  courtship  soon  began,  and  was  brisk  enough  ;  for  the 
good  man  knew  there  was  no  time  to  lose  at  his  period  of 
life,  —  or  hers  either,  for  that  matter.  It  was  a  rather  odd 
specimen  of  love-making  ;  for  he  was  constantly  trying  to 
subdue  his  features  to  a  gravity  which  they  were  not  used 
to,  and  she  was  as  constantly  endeavoring  to  be  as  lively 
as  possible,  with  the  innocent  desire  of  pleasing  her  light- 
hearted  suitor. 

"  Vieille  fille  fait  jeune  mariee"  Silence  wa.s  ten  years 
younger  as  a  bride  than  she  had  seemed  as  a  lone  woman. 
One  would  have  said  she  had  got  out  of  the  coach  next  to 


412  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

the  hearse,  and  got  into  one  some  half  a  dozen  behind  it,  — 
where  there  is  often  good  and  reasonably  cheerful  conver 
sation  going  on  about  the  virtues  of  the  deceased,  the 
probable  amount  of  his  property,  or  the  little  slips  he  may 
have  committed,  and  where  occasionally  a  subdued  pleas 
antry  at  his  expense  sets  the  four  waistcoats  shaking  that 
were  lifting  with  sighs  a  half-hour  ago  in  the  house  of 
mourning.  But  Miss  Silence,  that  was,  thought  that  t\vo 
families,  with  all  the  possible  complications  which  time 
might  bring,  would  be  better  in  separate  establishments. 
She  therefore  proposed  selling  The  Poplars  to  Myrtle  and 
her  husband,  and  removing  to  a  house  in  the  village,  which 
would  be  large  enough  for  them,  at  least  for  the  present. 
So  the  young  folks  bought  the  old  house,  and  paid  a 
mighty  good  price  for  it ;  and  enlarged  it,  and  beautified 
and  glorified  it,  and  one  fine  morning  went  together  down 
to  the  Widow  Hopkins's,  whose  residence  seemed  in  dan 
ger  of  being  a  little  crowded,  —  for  Gifted  lived  there  with 
his  Susan,  —  and  what  had  happened  might  happen  again, 
—  and  gave  Master  Byles  Gridley  a  formal  and  most  per 
suasively  worded  invitation  to  come  up  and  make  his  home 
with  them  at  The  Poplars. 

Now  Master  Gridley  has  been  betrayed  into  palpable 
and  undisguised  weakness  at  least  once  in  the  presence  of 
this  assembly,  \vlio  are  looking  upon  him  almost  for  the 
last  time  before  they  part  from  him,  and  see  his  face  no 
more.  Let  us  not  inquire  too  curiously,  then,  how  he  re 
ceived  this  kind  proposition.  It  is  enough,  that,  when  he 
found  that  a  new  study  had  been  built  on  purpose  for  him, 
and  a  sleeping-room  attached  to  it  so  that  he  could  live 
there  without  disturbing  anybody  if  he  chose,  he  consented 
to  remove  there  for  a  while,  and  that  he  was  there  estab 
lished  amidst  great  rejoicing. 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  413 

Cynthia  Badlam  had  fallen  of  late  into  poor  health. 
She  found  at  last  that  she  was  going  ;  and  as  she  had  a 
little  property  of  her  own,  —  as  almost  all  poor  relations 
have,  only  there  is  not  enough  of  it,  —  she  was  much  exer 
cised  in  her  mind  as  to  the  final  arrangements  to  be  made 
respecting  its  disposition.  The  Rev.  Dr..  Pemberton  was 
one  day  surprised  by  a  message,  that  she  wished  to  have  an 
interview  with  him.  He  rode  over  to  the  town  in  which 
she  was  residing,  and  there  had  a  long  conversation  with 
her  upon  this  matter.  When  this  was  settled,  her  mind 
seemed  to  be  more  at  ease.  She  died  with  a  comfort 
able  assurance  that  she  was  going  to  a  better  world,  and 
with  a  bitter  conviction  that  it  would  be  hard  to  find  one 
that  would  offer  her  a  worse  lot  than  being  a  poor  relation 
in  this. 

Her  little  property  was  left  to  Rev.  Eliphalet  Pembej> 
ton  and  Jacob  Penhallow,  Esq.,  to  be  by  them  employed 
for  such  charitable  purposes  as  they  should  elect,  educa 
tional  or  other.  Father  Pemberton  preached  an  admirable 
funeral  sermon,  in  which  he  praised  her  virtues,  known  to 
this  people  among  whom  she  had  long  lived,  and  especially 
that  crowning  act  by  which  she  devoted  all  she  had  to  pur 
poses  of  charity  and  benevolence. 

The  old  clergyman  seemed  to  have  renewed  his  youth 
since  the  misfortune  of  his  colleague  had  incapacitated  him 
from  labor.  He  generally  preached  in  the  forenoon  now, 
and  to  the  great  acceptance  of  the  people,  —  for  the  truth 
was  that  the  honest  minister  who  had  married  Miss  Silence 
was  not  young  enough  or  good-looking  enough  to  be  an  ob 
ject  of  personal  attentions  like  the  Rev.  Joseph  Bellamy 
Stoker.  —  and  the  old  minister  appeared  to  great  advantage 
contrasted  with  him  in  the  pulpit.  Poor  Mr.  Stoker  was 


414  THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

now  helpless,  faithfully  and  tenderly  waited  upon  by  his 
own  wife,  who  had  regained  her  health  and  strength,  —  in 
no  small  measure,  perhaps,  from  the  great  need  of  sympa 
thy  and  active  aid  which  her  unfortunate  husband  now  ex 
perienced.  It  was  an  astonishment  to  herself  when  she 
found  that  she  who  had  so  long  been  served  was  able  to 
serve  another.  Some  who  knew  his  errors  thought  his  ac 
cident  was  a  judgment ;  but  others  believed  that  it  was 
only  a  mercy  in  disguise,  —  it  snatched  him  roughly  from 
his  sin,  but  it  opened  his  heart  to  gratitude  towards  her 
whom  his  neglect  could  not  alienate,  and  through  gratitude 
to  repentance  and  better  thoughts.  Bathsheba  had  long 
ago  promised  herself  to  Cyprian  Eveleth  ;  and,  as  he  was 
about  to  become  the  rector  of  a  parish  in  the  next  town, 
the  marriage  was  soon  to  take  place. 

•How  beautifully  serene  Master  Byles  Gridley's  face  was 
growing !  Clement  loved  to  study  its  grand  lines,  which 
had  so  much  strength  and  fine  humanity  blended  in  them. 
He  was  so  fascinated  by  their  noble  expression  that  he 
sometimes  seemed  to  forget  himself,  and  looked  at  him 
more  like  an  artist  taking  his  portrait  than  like  an  admir 
ing  friend.  He  maintained  that  Master  Gridley  had  a 
bigger  bump  of  benevolence  and  as  large  a  one  of  cautious 
ness,  as  the  two  people  most  famous  for  the  size  of  these 
organs  on  the  phrenological  chart  he  showed  him,  and 
proved  it,  or  nearly  proved  it,  by  careful  measurements  of 
his  head.  Master  Gridley  laughed,  and  read  him  a  pas 
sage  on  the  pseudo-sciences  out  of  his  book. 

The  disposal  of  Miss  Cynthia's  bequest  was  much  dis 
cussed  in  the  village.  Some  wished  the  trustees  would  use 
it  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  public  library.  Others 
thought  it  should  be  applied  for  the  relief  of  the  families  of 


THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  415 

soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the  war.  Still  another  set  would 
take  it  to  build  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  those  heroes. 
The  trustees  listened  with  the  greatest  candor  to  all  these 
gratuitous  hints.  It  was,  however,  suggested,  in  a  well- 
written  anonymous  article  which  appeared  in  the  village 
paper,  that  it  was  desirable  to  follow  the  general  lead  of 
the  testator's  apparent  preference.  The  trustees  were  at 
liberty  to  do  as  they  saw  fit ;  but,  other  things  being  equal, 
some  educational  object  should  be  selected.  If  there  were 
any  orphan  children  in  the  place,  it  would  seem  to  be  very 
proper  to  devote  the  moderate  sum  bequeathed  to  educating 
them.  The  trustees  recognized  the  justice  of  this  sugges 
tion.  Why  not  apply  it  to  the  instruction  and  maintenance 
of  those  two  pretty  and  promising  children,  virtually  or 
phans,  whom  the  charitable  Mrs.  Hopkins  had  cared  for  so 
long  without  any  recompense,  and  at  a  cost  which  would 
soon  become  beyond  her  means  ?  The  good  people  of  the 
neighborhood  accepted  this  as  the  best  solution  of  the  diffi 
culty.  It  was  agreed  upon  at  length  by  the  trustees,  that 
the  Cynthia  Badlam  Fund  for  Educational  Purposes  should 
be  applied  for  the  benefit  of  the  two  foundlings,  known  as 
Isosceles  and  Helminthia  Hopkins. 

Master  Byles  Gridley  was  greatly  exercised  about  the 
two  "  preposterous  names,"  as  he  called  them,  which  in  a 
moment  of  eccentric  impulse  he  had  given  to  these  children 
of  nature.  He  ventured  to  hint  as  much  to  Mrs.  Hopkins. 
The  good  dame  was  vastly  surprised.  She  thought  they 
was  about  as  pooty  names  as  anybody  had  had  given  'em  in 
the  village.  And  they  was  so  handy,  spoke  short,  —  Sossy 
and  Minthy,  —  she  never  should  know  how  to  call  'em 
anything  else. 

"  But  my  dear  Mrs.  Hopkins,"  Master  Gridley  urged. 


416  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

"  if  you  knew  the  meaning  they  have  to  the  ears  of  scholars, 
you  would  see  that  I  did  very  wrong  to  apply  such  absurd 
names  to  my  little  fellow-creatures,  and  that  I  am  bound 
to  rectify  my  error.  More  than  that,  my  dear  madam,  I 
mean  to  consult  you  as  to  the  new  names  ;  and  if  we  can  fix 
upon  proper  and  pleasing  ones,  it  is  my  intention  to  leave  a 
pretty  legacy  in  my  will  to  these  interesting  children." 

"  Mr.  Gridley,"  said  Mrs.  Hopkins,  "  you  're  the  best 
man  I  ever  see,  or  ever  shall  see,  .  .  .  except  my  poor 
dear  Ammi.  ...  I  '11  do  jest  as  you  say  about  that,  or 
about  anything  else  in  all  this  livin'  world." 

"  Well,  then,  Mrs.  Hopkins,  what  shall  be  the  boy's 
name  ?  " 

"  Byles  Gridley  Hopkins  !  "  she  answered  instantly. 

"  Good  Lord  ! "  said  Mr.  Gridley,  "  think  a  minute,  my 
dear  madam.  I  will  not  say  one  word,  —  only  think  a 
minute,  and  mention  some  name  that  will  not  suggest  quite 
so  many  winks  and  whispers." 

She  did  think  something  less  than  a  minute,  and  then 
said  aloud,  "  Abraham  Lincoln  Hopkins." 

"  Fifteen  thousand  children  have  been  so  christened 
during  the  past  year,  on  a  moderate  computation." 

"  Do  think  of  some  name  yourself,  Mr.  Gridley  ;  I  shall 
like  anything  that  you  like.  To  think  of  those  dear  babes 
having  a  fund  —  if  that 's  the  right  name  —  on  purpose  for 
'em,  and  a  promise  of  a  legacy,  —  I  hope  they  won't  get 
that  till  they  're  a  hundred  year  old  !  " 

"  What  if  we  change  Isosceles  to  Theodore,  Mrs.  Hop 
kins  ?  That  means  the  gift  of  God,  and  the  child  has  been 
a  gift  from  Heaven,  rather  than  a  burden." 

Mrs.  Hopkins  seized  her  apron,  and  held  it  to  her  eyes. 
She  was  weeping.  "  Theodore  ! "  she  said,  —  "  Theodore  ! 


THE    GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  417 

My  little  brother's  name,  that  I  buried  when  I  was  only 
eleven  year  old.  Drownded.  The  dearest  little  child  that 
ever  you  see.  I  have  got  his  little  mug  with  Theodore  on 
it  now.  Kep'  o'  purpose.  Our  little  Sossy  shall  have  it. 
Theodore  P.  Hopkins,  —  sha'n't  it  be,  Mr.  Gridley  ?  " 

"  Well,  if  you  say  so  ;  but  why  that  P.,  Mrs.  Hopkins  ? 
Theodore  Parker,  is  it?" 

"  Does  n't  P.  stand  for  Pemberton,  and  is  n't  Father 
Pemberton  the  best  man  in  the  world  —  next  to  you,  Mr. 
Gridley  ?  " 

"  Well,  well,  Mrs.  Hopkins,  let  it  be  so,  if  you  like  ;  if 
you  are  suited,  I  am.  Now  about  Helminthia  ;  there  can't 
be  any  doubt  about  what  we  ought  to  call  her,  —  surely 
the  friend  of  orphans  should  be  remembered  in  naming  one 
of  the  objects  of  her  charity." 

"  Cynthia  Badlam  Fund  Hopkins,"  said  the  good  woman 
triumphantly,  —  "  is  that  what  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Suppose  we  leave  out  one  of  the  names,  —  four  are  too 
many.  I  think  the  general  opinion  will  be  that  Helmintha 
should  unite  the  names  of  her  two  benefactresses,  —  Cyn 
thia  Badlam  Hopkins." 

"  Why,  law  !  Mr.  Gridley,  is  n't  that  nice  ?  —  Minthy 
and  Cynthy, —  there  ain't  but  one  letter  of  difference  !  Poor 
Cynthy  would  be  pleased  if  she  could  know  that  one  of 
our  babes  was  to  be  called  after  her.  She  was  dreadful 
fond  of  children." 

On  one  of  the  sweetest  Sundays  that  ever  made  Oxbow 
Village  lovely,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eliphalet  Pemberton  was 
summoned  to  officiate  at  three  most  interesting  ceremonies, 
—  a  wedding  and  two  christenings,  one  of  the  latter  a 
double  one. 

18*  AA 


418  THE  GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

The  first  was  celebrated  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Stoker,  between  the  Rev.  Cyprian  Eveleth  and  Bathsheba, 
daughter  of  the  first-named  clergyman.  He  could  not  be 
present  on  account  of  his  great  infirmity,  but  the  door  of 
his  chamber  was  left  open  that  he  might  hear  the  marriage 
service  performed.  The  old,  white-haired  minister,  as 
sisted,  as  the  papers  said,  by  the  bridegroom's  father,  con 
ducted  the  ceremony  according  to  the  Episcopal  form. 
When  he  came  to  those  solemn  words  in  which  the  husband 
promises  fidelity  to  the  wife  so  long  as  they  both  shall  live, 
the  nurse,  who  was  watching,  near  the  poor  father,  saw 
him  bury  his  face  in  his  pillow,  and  heard  him  murmur 
the  words,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner  !  " 

The  christenings  were  both  to  take  place  at  the  same 
service,  in  the  old  meeting-house.  Colonel  Clement  Lind 
say  and  Myrtle  his  wife  came  in,  and  stout  Nurse  Byloe 
bore  their  sturdy  infant  in  her  arms.  A  slip  of  paper  was 
handed  to  the  Reverend  Doctor  on  which  these  words  were 
written  :  —  "  The  name  is  Charles  Hazard." 

The  solemn  and  touching  rite  was  then  performed  ;  and 
Nurse  Byloe  disappeared  with  the  child,  its  forehead  glis 
tening  with  the  dew  of  its  consecration. 

Then,  hand  in  hand,  like  the  babes  in  the  wood,  marched 
up  the  broad  aisle  —  marshalled  by  Mrs.  Hopkins  in  front, 
and  Mrs.  Gifted  Hopkins  bringing  up  the  rear  —  the  two 
children  hitherto  known  as  Isosceles  and  Helmintha.  They 
had  been  well  schooled,  and,  as  the  mysterious  and  to  them 
incomprehensible  ceremony  was  enacted,  maintained  the 
most  stoical  aspect  of  tranquillity.  In  Mrs.  Hopkins's 
words,  "  They  looked  like  picters,  and  behaved  like  angel.s." 

That  evening,  Sunday  evening  as  it  was,   there  was  a 


THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL.  419 

quiet  meeting  of  some  few  friends  at  The  Poplars.  It  was 
such  a  great  occasion  that  the  Sabbatical  rules,  never  strict 
about  Sunday  evening,  —  which  was,  strictly  speaking, 
secular  time,  —  were  relaxed.  Father  Pemberton  was 
there,  and  Master  Byle-s  Gridley,  of  course,  and  the  Rev. 
Ambrose  Eveleth,  with  his  son  and  bis  daughter-in-law, 
Bathsheba,  and  her  mother,  now  in  comfortable  health, 
Aunt  Silence  and  her  husband,  Doctor  Hurlbut  and  his 
wife  (Olive  Eveleth  that  was),  Jacob  Penhallow,  Esq., 
Mrs.  Hopkins,  her  son  and  his  wife  (Susan  Posey  that 
was),  the  senior  deacon  of  the  old  church  (the  admirer  of 
the  great  Scott),  the  Editor-in-chief  of  the  "  Banner  and 
Oracle,"  and  in  the  background,  Nurse  Byloe  and  the  priv 
ileged  servant,  Mistress  Kitty  Fagan,  with  a  few  others 
whose  names  we  need  not  mention. 

The  evening  was  made  pleasant  with  sacred  music,  and 
the  fatigues  of  two  long  services  repaired  by  such  simple 
refections  as  would  not  turn  the  holy  day  into  a  day  of 
labor.  A  large  paper  copy  of  the  new  edition  of  Byles 
Gridley's  remarkable  work  was  lying  on  the  table.  He 
never  looked  so  happy,  —  could  anything  fill  his  cup  fuller  ? 
In  the  course  of  the  evening  Clement  spoke  of  the  many 
trials  through  which  they  had  passed  in  common  with  vast 
numbers  of  their  countrymen,  and  some  of  those  peculiar 
dangers  which  Myrtle  had  had  to  encounter  in  the  course 
of  a  life  more  eventful,  and  attended  with  more  risks, 
perhaps,  than  most  of  them  imagined.  But  Myrtle,  he 
said,  had  always  been  specially  cared  for.  Pie  wished 
them  to  look  upon  the  semblance  of  that  protecting  spirit 
who  had  been  faithful  to  her  in  her  gravest  hours  of  trial 
and  danger.  If  they  would  follow  him  into  one  of  the 
lesser  apartments  up  stairs  they  would  have  an  opportu- 
nitv  to  do  so. 


420  THE   GUARDIAN  ANGEL. 

Myrtle  wondered  a  little,  but  followed  with  the  rest. 
They  all  ascended  to  the  little  projecting  chamber,  through 
the  window  of  which  her  scarlet  jacket  caught  the  eyes 
of  the  boys  paddling  about  on  the  river  in  those  early 
days  when  Cyprian  Eveleth  gave  it  the  name  of  the  Fire- 
hang-bird's  Nest. 

The  light  fell  softly  but  clearly  on  the  dim  and  faded 
canvas  from  which  looked  the  saintly  features  of  the  mar 
tyred  woman,  whose  continued  presence  with  her  descend 
ants  was  the  old  family  legend.  But  underneath  it  Myr 
tle  was  surprised  to  see  a  small  table  with  some  closely 
covered  object  upon  it.  It  was  a  mysterious  arrangement, 
made  without  any  knowledge  on  her  part. 

"Now,  then,  Kitty!  "  Mr.  Lindsay  said. 

Kitty  Fagan,  who  had  evidently  been  taught  her  part, 
stepped  forward,  and  removed  the  cloth  which  concealed 
the  unknown  object.  It  was  a  lifelike  marble  bust  of 
Master  Byles  Gridley. 

"  And  this  is  what  you  have  been  working  at  so  long,  — 
is  it,  Clement  ?  "  Myrtle  said. 

"  Which  is  the  image  of  your  protector,  Myrtle  ?  "  he 
answered,  smiling. 

Myrtle   Hazard  Lindsay  walked   up  to  the  bust   and , 
kissed  its  marble  forehead,  saying,  "  This  is  the  face  of  my 
Guardian  Angel." 


THE  END. 


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